Mother Teresa Sainthood: Pope Francis Recognizes Second Miracle

A second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa has been recognized by Pope Francis, clearing the way for the Roman Catholic nun to be made a saint in 2016.

The miracle involved the inexplicable healing of a Brazilian man with multiple brain tumors, a report in the Avvenire newspaper of the Italian Catholic Bishop’s Conference said.

Mother Teresa was beatified – the first step towards sainthood – in 2003.

In 1979, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the poor.

Mother Teresa died in Calcutta, India, on September 5, 1997.

She is celebrated for her work in the slums of Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta).

The Avvenire report said that she is expected to be canonized in Rome in September.

Beatification requires one miracle by the Catholic Church, while the process of becoming recognized as a saint requires proof of at least two miracles.

Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003 after Pope John Paul II accepted as authentic a miracle attributed to the nun.

Pope John Paul II judged that the curing of an Indian woman suffering from an abdominal tumor was the result of the supernatural intervention of Mother Teresa with God – a claim challenged by Indian rationalists.

Born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Uskup (now Skopje), Macedonia, in 1910, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1949, dedicating her life to caring for impoverished and sick people in Kolkata.

Known as the “saint of the gutter”, she earned worldwide acclaim for her efforts.

Mother Teresa and her helpers built homes for orphans, nursing homes for lepers and hospices for the terminally ill in Calcutta. Mother Teresa’s organization also engaged in aid work in other parts of the world.

The modest nun became known all over the world, and money poured in. But she was also criticized. It was alleged that dying people in the hospices were refused pain relief, whereas Mother Teresa herself accepted hospital treatment.

Mother Teresa also held a conservative view on abortion. She was regarded as a spokesperson for the Vatican.