Pope Francis will declare Blessed Teresa of Calcutta a saint at the Vatican on Sunday 4 September. A special Mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate the Canonization of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta will be celebrated in Saint Malachy’s Church, Armagh on Monday 5 September at 7.30pm. The main celebrant will be Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. All are welcome to attend.
Mother Teresa was widely known as a living saint as she ministered to the sick and dying in some of the poorest neighbourhoods of the world. Her simple service touched the hearts of millions of people of all faiths. Born to an ethnic Albanian family in Skopje, in what is now part of Macedonia, she went to India in 1929 as a Sister of Loreto and became an Indian citizen in 1947. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. Shortly after she died in 1997, St John Paul II waived the usual five-year waiting period and allowed the opening of the process to declare her sainthood. She was beatified in 2003.
The date chosen for her canonization is the eve of the 19th anniversary of her death and the date previously established at the Vatican for the conclusion of the Year of Mercy pilgrimage of people like her who are engaged in works of mercy. Mother Teresa once wrote “If I ever become a saint – I will surely be one of darkness – I will continually be absent from Heaven – to light the light of those in darkness on earth”.
ENDS
