Pope Francis approves Mother Teresa's elevation to sainthood; canonisation on Sept 4

Mother Teresa, the nun who dedicated her life to helping the poor of Calcutta (now Kolkata), will be made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church at a ceremony on September 4.

Vatican City: Pope Francis Tuesday formally approved Mother Teresa's elevation to sainthood and set September 4 as the date for her canonisation.

The move comes 19 years after the death of the missionary nun who dedicated most of her adult life to working with the poor of Kolkata.

Pope Francis signed a decree approving the canonisation of the 1979 Nobel peace prize winner after the Vatican committee that approves elevations to sainthood cleared the recommendation that Mother Teresa becomes Saint Teresa.

It is not yet clear whether the Pope will bow to appeals from the Catholic Church in India and travel to Kolkata for the canonisation ceremony or, as Vatican sources say is more likely, preside over one in Rome.

More than 300,000 pilgrims came to Rome in 2003 for Teresa's beatification -- the first step towards sainthood.

Known across the world, Teresa was awarded the Nobel for her work with the poor, sick, old and lonely in the slums of Kolkata.

(With AFP inputs)