Pope Francis has declared Mother Teresa of Calcutta, known as the
"saint of the gutters" during her life, a saint, just 19 years after her
death.
Applause erupted in St Peter's Square at the Vatican even before
Francis finished pronouncing the rite of canonisation at the start of
the Mass for the nun on Sunday, with the attendance of tens of thousands
of pilgrims.
Pilgrims streamed into the square from early morning ahead of a
service to honour the nun and Nobel peace laureate, who worked among the
world's poorest in the slums of the Indian city now known as Kolkata.
"For the honour of the Blessed Trinity ... we declare and define
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Kolkata) to be a Saint and we enroll her
among the Saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the
whole Church," the pontiff said in Latin.
Francis said that even though the nun had been declared a saint, she would always be Mother Teresa to the Catholic family.
Echoing his own vision of a "poor church for the poor", the pope
described Teresa's work as "eloquent witness to God's closeness to the
poorest of the poor."
To applause, he added: "Mother Teresa loved to say, 'perhaps I don't speak their language but I can smile'.
"Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer."
Role model
Millions of Catholics revere the nun as a model of compassion, and
more than 100,000 people were expected at the mid-morning ceremony in
front of St Peter's Basilica, decked out with a canvas of the late nun
in her trademark blue-hemmed white robes.
Mother Teresa's legacy complements Pope Francis's vision of a humble
church that strives to serve the poor, and the festivities are a
highlight of his Holy Year of Mercy, which runs until November 8.
Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee, reporting from the Vatican, said that
speeding up the canonisation of Teresa helped the Pope Francis' campaign
for social justice.
"Before Pope Francis took over the job, the Catholic Church was in a
real mess. There were scandals affiliated with the church and
corruption, resignation of Pope Benedict and the loss of direction of
the church," he said.
"Pope Francis is trying to see a resetting and a new sense of
direction revolved around social change and helping the poor. And
speeding up the canonisation of Teresa helps this goal."
Source: Al Jazeera News and agencies
