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Pope beatifies Mother Teresa
Vatican City, Oct 19: Mother Teresa, the humble nun known as the `saint of the gutters`, was beatified today by Pope John Paul II before 300,000 pilgrims massed in St Peter`s Square.
Vatican City, Oct 19: Mother Teresa, the humble nun known as the "saint of the gutters", was beatified today by Pope John Paul II before 300,000 pilgrims massed in St Peter's Square.
Choirs burst into song and the tumultuous crowd cheered and waved as the Pope made Mother Teresa the 1,315th "blessed" of the roman catholic church, placing her on the threshold of sainthood only six years after her death.
In his homily, read out for him by Calcutta Archbishop Lucas Sirkar, the Pope paid tribute to the tiny nun known for her selfless caring for the sick, the destitute and the dying.
Calling her "the mother of the poor" the pope wrote: "her life is a testimony to the dignity and the privilege of humble service. She had chosen to be not just the least, but to be the servant of the least."
John Paul II tired increasingly towards the end of the more than two-hour ceremony, his speech reduced to a barely-decipherable mumble as aides leaned a microphone closer to his bent-over frame.
Glassy-eyed pilgrims, nuns and priests bowed their heads in contemplation during the ceremony, as angelic chorales and fanfares swirled around the square and down the packed via Della Conciliazione, the broad avenue leading to the River Tiber.
Fittingly, more than 2,000 poor and homeless were given pride of place, rubbing shoulders with members of the 27 diplomatic delegations and the massed ranks of the catholic hierarchy.
The homeless were later given lunch at the Vatican by the missionaries of charity, with lasagna and roast chicken on the menu.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims had been gathering in St Peter's Square since before dawn, wrapped against the early morning cold as they searched out a good vantage point. The threat of rain failed to materialise, and dawn gave way to benevolent blue skies over Rome.
Flags from the pope's native Poland, from Italy, Albania, Ireland and across South America fluttered in the bright sunshine. Many pilgrims held up banners, including giant posters of Mother Teresa. One read "Viva Il Papa" -- or "long live the pope" -- who leads the world's estimated one billion Catholics.
Proceedings in Rome had an Indian flavour. A group of followers dressed in saris in the Indian national colours offered up flowers and incense to the altar at holy communion, to the strains of Indian singing.
In the congregation was Monica Besra, a young Indian woman whose claim to be cured of cancer after praying to Mother Teresa was recognized as a miracle by the Vatican, paving the way for today's beatification.
Today's ceremony completed the fastest-ever process of beatification -- rushed through by the pope, a personal friend -- and comes just six years after the nun's death in 1997 at the age of 87.
The Vatican will have to approve a second miracle before the ethnic Albanian nun, treated by many in her lifetime as a living saint, can be officially canonised as a saint.
In Tirana, more than 2,000 Albanians took part in a "people's marathon," which began at a square named after Mother Teresa. The run was led by an Albanian student carrying a torch which had earlier Sunday been brought from Rome, after being blessed by the Pope.
Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910 to Albanian parents in Skopje, Mother Teresa's ceaseless highlighting of the plight of the poor throughout her lifetime won her international recognition and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Her missionaries of charity order, now run by her successor sister Nirmala, has grown from a unit of 12 sisters in 1950 to some 4,500 nuns today, running schools as well as homes and hospices for the poor and the dying.
Officials estimate that nearly 2,000 pilgrims had travelled from India, where Mother Teresa's work forged her reputation, to witness the ceremony.
Bureau Report
In his homily, read out for him by Calcutta Archbishop Lucas Sirkar, the Pope paid tribute to the tiny nun known for her selfless caring for the sick, the destitute and the dying.
Calling her "the mother of the poor" the pope wrote: "her life is a testimony to the dignity and the privilege of humble service. She had chosen to be not just the least, but to be the servant of the least."
John Paul II tired increasingly towards the end of the more than two-hour ceremony, his speech reduced to a barely-decipherable mumble as aides leaned a microphone closer to his bent-over frame.
Glassy-eyed pilgrims, nuns and priests bowed their heads in contemplation during the ceremony, as angelic chorales and fanfares swirled around the square and down the packed via Della Conciliazione, the broad avenue leading to the River Tiber.
Fittingly, more than 2,000 poor and homeless were given pride of place, rubbing shoulders with members of the 27 diplomatic delegations and the massed ranks of the catholic hierarchy.
The homeless were later given lunch at the Vatican by the missionaries of charity, with lasagna and roast chicken on the menu.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims had been gathering in St Peter's Square since before dawn, wrapped against the early morning cold as they searched out a good vantage point. The threat of rain failed to materialise, and dawn gave way to benevolent blue skies over Rome.
Flags from the pope's native Poland, from Italy, Albania, Ireland and across South America fluttered in the bright sunshine. Many pilgrims held up banners, including giant posters of Mother Teresa. One read "Viva Il Papa" -- or "long live the pope" -- who leads the world's estimated one billion Catholics.
Proceedings in Rome had an Indian flavour. A group of followers dressed in saris in the Indian national colours offered up flowers and incense to the altar at holy communion, to the strains of Indian singing.
In the congregation was Monica Besra, a young Indian woman whose claim to be cured of cancer after praying to Mother Teresa was recognized as a miracle by the Vatican, paving the way for today's beatification.
Today's ceremony completed the fastest-ever process of beatification -- rushed through by the pope, a personal friend -- and comes just six years after the nun's death in 1997 at the age of 87.
The Vatican will have to approve a second miracle before the ethnic Albanian nun, treated by many in her lifetime as a living saint, can be officially canonised as a saint.
In Tirana, more than 2,000 Albanians took part in a "people's marathon," which began at a square named after Mother Teresa. The run was led by an Albanian student carrying a torch which had earlier Sunday been brought from Rome, after being blessed by the Pope.
Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910 to Albanian parents in Skopje, Mother Teresa's ceaseless highlighting of the plight of the poor throughout her lifetime won her international recognition and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Her missionaries of charity order, now run by her successor sister Nirmala, has grown from a unit of 12 sisters in 1950 to some 4,500 nuns today, running schools as well as homes and hospices for the poor and the dying.
Officials estimate that nearly 2,000 pilgrims had travelled from India, where Mother Teresa's work forged her reputation, to witness the ceremony.
Bureau Report