Nation & World News
Mother Teresa elevated to sainthood by pope
Soon after her death in 1997,
Mother Teresa was put on
the ‘fast track to sainthood’
by Pope John Paul II
By Tom Hundley
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
VATICAN CITY — Mother Teresa,
the diminutive nun who dedicated her
life to caring for the destitute of Calcut
ta's slums, was elevated to the threshold
of sainthood Sunday during a festive
mass celebrated in a jam-packed St. Pe
ter' s Square by one of her biggest fans,
Pope John Paul II.
More than a quarter of a million
people filled the vast esplanade in
front of the basilica as the Polish pope
praised the Albanian nun as "an icon
of the Good Samaritan."
The pope, whose failing heath has
become a matter of serious concern,
became weary during the two-hour
beatification ceremony. Me faltered
while reading the prayers in Latin and
relied on aides to deliver his sermon
in English and Italian.
He did, however, proclaim the
words that made Mother Teresa
"blessed," a moment that brought
tears of joy to hundreds of nuns
from Mother Teresa's order, the Mis
sionaries of Charity.
Portraits of the wizened but ever
smiling nun blossomed in every cor
ner of the immense gathering, and
flags from every nation fluttered. For
once, it seemed, the red and white
Polish flag was outnumbered by the
red flag of Albania.
The ceremony had a distinctive In
dian flavor. Sticks of incense burned
as young women in green and saffron
saris danced to the rhythms of a tabla.
James Nicholson, the U.S. ambas
sador to the Vatican, said he was not
surprised that the pope had chosen to
elevate Mother Teresa.
"In this age of sports heroes and en
tertainment heroes and celebrity he
roes, he feels the world needs to have
other kinds of heroes," Nicholson said.
"She captured the attention and love
and respect of people universally."
Mother Teresa, whose birth name
was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, was bom
in 1910 to ethnic Albanian parents in
Skopje, the capital of present-day Mace
donia. She founded the Missionaries of
Charity in 1950 with 12 nuns and
spent most of her working life among
the poor of India.
As her fame grew, so too did her
religious order. Today there are
about 4,500 Sisters of Charity in
more than 130 countries.
She was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1979 and died in 1997, a few
days after the car crash that killed
Britain's Princess Diana. The nun's
humble life drew pointed compar
isons to the media excess that was
heaped on Diana.
Normally, the process of becoming
a saint in the Roman Catholic Church
takes decades, even centuries, but
Mother Teresa had a special intervener
in the pope.
Pope John Paul II and Mother Tere
sa met on numerous occasions and
developed what papal biographer
George Weigel described as a "deep
and intuitive" friendship.
The pope put Mother Teresa on the
fast track to sainthood in 1999 when
he waived the rule that requires a
waiting period of five years after a can
didate's death before the process of
sainthood can even begin.
To reach the first stage of sainthood
- beatification - there must be one
proven posthumous miracle attrib
Vicki Valerio KRT
Thousands of people witnessed the beatification of Mother Teresa by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.
uted to the candidate. Mother Teresa
is credited with the miraculous cure of
a peasant woman in India who had a
stomach tumor.
According to the church's investiga
tors, the woman was cured on the first
anniversary of Mother Teresa's death
when she prayed before a photograph
of the nun and noticed rays of light
coming from the picture's eyes. The
next morning, the tumor was gone.
Indian doctors who treated the
woman dispute the miracle, saying
the cure was the result of convention
al medical treatment. Other doctors
who examined the woman say there
is no medical explanation for her
cure. The pope has accepted the find
ings of church investigators.
A second miracle must be authen
ticated for Mother Teresa's canoniza
tion as a saint to be finalized.
During John Paul H's 25 years as
pope, he has beatified 1,319 persons
and canonized 474 saints — a total
that far exceeds the output of several
centuries of his predecessors.
Some critics have said the pope has
made too many saints, diminishing
the meaning of sainthood. But Cardi
nal Francis George, Chicago's arch
bishop, disagrees.
"The reason the Holy Father is doing
this is because the Second Vatican
Council said the call to holiness is uni
versal," said George, who attended Sun
day's beatification. "There are a lot of
holy people in this world. 1 meet them
all the time in Chicago."
(c) 2003, Chicago Tribune.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
Cancer Awareness Fashion Show
(^/londuy
October 20th
EMU Ballroom • 7:00pm
017359
Sponsored by the UO Health Center's Health Education Program
Free and open to the public
346-2843 for more information
n of Breast Cancer Awar
to expand your underst
reast cancer. Informatioi
more beautiful than this!
ness
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON