The Vatican announces Pope Francis has recognized a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, clearing the path for the nun to be elevated to sainthood next year.
Pope Francis marked his 79th birthday on Thursday by approving a decree recognizing that Mother Teresa had performed a second miracle, clearing the way for her to be elevated to sainthood next year.
The Vatican released a statement on Friday announcing that: “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.”
An earlier press release, issued only in Italian, on Thursday stated that Pope Francis had met with Cardinal Angelo Amato, who serves as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the governing body of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints.
The press release continued, stating that during the meeting, “The Holy Father [Francis] authorized the Congregation to make widely known its decree regarding a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu) founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity and the Missionaries of Charity; born August 26, 1910 and died September 5, 1997.”
Full sainthood requires the declaration of two miracles. Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003 by the late Pope John Paul as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta for healing an Indian woman’s tumor through prayer, and Pope Francis cleared the way for her sainthood by approving a decree recognizing an inexplicable healing of a Brazilian man suffering from multiple brain tumors according to a report in Avennire [in Italian], the official newspaper of the Italian Bishop’s Conference.
Thomas D’Souza, the Archbishop of Calcutta told Sky News that: “We are very happy and overjoyed with this news, the city of Kolkata has been waiting for this day. We thank God of the great gift he bestowed on us with Mother Teresa.”
NDTV reports that Sunita Kumar, spokesperson of the Calcutta-based Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa, told news agency PTI earlier today that: “We have now received an official confirmation from Vatican that the Mother would be given sainthood. We are very excited and happy about it.”
The Associated Press reports that “No date was set for the canonization, but Italian media have speculated that the ceremony will take place in the first week of September — to coincide with the anniversary of her death, and during Francis’ Holy Year of Mercy.”
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