Mother Teresa To Be Sainted

Pope Francis is to sign on Tuesday morning the Decree of Canonization of Mother Teresa. In other words, he will officially make her a saint. She, who looked so frail, in her white blue-bordered sari.

With her tireless commitment, this tenacious and pragmatic religious woman, who has also quietly suffered in her faith during most of her life, gave her a global moral aura. She was awarded Nobel Peace prize in 1979.

The process of canonization (approval for sainthood) first requires beatification (recognition that the deceased has entered heaven). Barro and company also found that beatification has risen over time. This is partly due to a relaxation of some of the rules that must be met if a person is to be declared to be a saint.

The Catholic church collects documents and conducts interviews about candidates for sainthood, before passing the material on to the pope. Before 1983, to be beatified, someone had to perform two or more miracles; now it is only one. (Mother Teresa is claimed to have performed several, including curing a Brazilian man of multiple brain tumors in 2008 – 11 years after her death).

In Calcutta, Mother Teresa opened a large orphanage, Sishu Bhavan, then Shantinagar leprosy. From there about 4500 Missionary of Charity's saris were woven. Today committed worldwide, still in an extreme poverty.