When Pope Francis canonizes Mother Teresa as a saint on Sunday, the ceremony will highlight the pope’s ideal of a “poor church for the poor” that pays special attention to the developing world.
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Gautam Lewis, once a polio stricken child who found his home in the Missionaries of Charity (MoC), will be releasing “Mora Gaang” – a song dedicated to the Mother.
The author of nine books, most recently Champions of the Rosary, which profiles 26 people including Mother Teresa, Calloway said, “To me, what she points to is that holiness, in this insane world, is still possible”.
Mother Teresa, who was beatified in 2003 as “Blessed Teresa of Calcutta”, had two verified miracles to her credit. She glorified her life with the dignity of humble service.
Despite declining health, including arthritis, failing eyesight and heart problems, she continued to work.
The Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa, gained her the Nobel Peace Prize. “Everyone in India loves her, and she’s not even Indian – she’s Albanian”, he said.
He added, “She was someone who thought about those who were least recognized among us – she frankly saw them as Jesus in the guise of the injured, the poor, the forgotten”. The former pope bent Vatican rules to grant a dispensation allowing the procedure to establish her case for sainthood to be launched two years after her death instead of the usual five. “She was always full of joy, fun-loving and (she) loved to tell jokes”. The public perception of her is accurate, he said, but it doesn’t capture her warmth and personality. Nuns of the order began calling her Mother Teresa.
“When she was paying her obeisance to the grotto of Mother Merry, which was just beside the main road connecting the Rourkela branch, I touched her feet”. As hard as it is for the logical mind to accept the medical miracle aspect of making saints without raising an eyebrow, it is inarguably a fundamental part of the faith for many Catholics, who believe that miracles might save them, too. The Vatican committee said in October 2002 that it could find no “scientific explanation” for the woman’s recovery.
On Sunday Pope Francis will oversee the final stage of that process – the canonisation of Mother Teresa, which will formally acknowledge a second miracle attributed to her since her death, in which a Brazilian man was apparently cured of a brain tumour in 2008.
“Ever since it was declared that the Mother will become a saint, I wanted to go to Vatican”.
In 1965, Pope Paul VI granted the Decree of Praise to Mother Teresa’s religious order, bringing it directly under Vatican jurisdiction.
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Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, general Secretary of the Indian Bishops” Conference, said in a press conference, “Mother Teresa merged the values of the Gospel with Indian values, devoting herself to the poorest of the poor. While the group will enjoy sightseeing like other tourists, they’ll be reflecting on Mother Teresa’s life and teachings.
