Roman Catholic Church to Canonize Mother Teresa in September: Miracles the New Saint Performed After Death
The date is finally set. The Roman Catholic church will officially add another saint to its roster later this year on Sept. 4. No less than Pope Francis made the announcement Tuesday, March 14.
Mother Teresa, who was widely-esteemed for devoting her life to the cause of the poor people in India, will be declared a saint after two posthumous miracles were established under her name.
"The Holy Father has authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to proclaim the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of blessed Mother Teresa," the Vatican said back in 2015.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was born on Aug. 26, 1910 in Skopje, a city from what is now the modern Macedonia. She left for Ireland when she reached 18 years of age to join the Sisters of Loreto, in Ireland. A few months later, she went to India where she made her Profession of Vows in Calcutta.
Mother Teresa Performs Miracle
There were two miracles attributed to Mother Teresa, both of which took place after her death. Back in the latter part of 2003, she was beatified by Pope John Paul II. It was after the first miracle took place, which involved one woman from Kolkata who claimed that after praying to Mother Teresa, she was cleared of her stomach tumor.
After carrying out an investigation of their own, the Vatican was convinced that the incident was indeed a miracle on the part of Mother Teresa. They found that medical science failed to provide an explanation on how the woman was cured.
And just last year in 2015, it was Pope Francis' turn to do his part for the new saint's canonization process to be completed. The Roman Catholic church leader announced the sainthood of Mother Teresa in December.
The Pope was prompted to do so after the second miracle of Mother Teresa was established as valid and true. This time, a man from Brazil was relieved of his suffering after he was cured from a number of tumors in his brain. His family claimed that it was only possible after saying their prayers to Mother Teresa.
The Canonization Process, in General, Was Marred by Controversy
Just recently, two Italian journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi stirred up a controversy after they published the leaked documents that exposed a misuse of funds within the Vatican, particularly on the process of canonization. It was revealed that the true cost of sainthood amounts to 500,000 euros or $550,000 on average.
Pope Francis has since approved a new set of measures to establish a more stringent way of conducting the lengthy and expensive canonization process.
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