by Alec Williams
In Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday morning, Pope Francis spoke before crowds of an estimated 120,000 people and officially canonized Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa, as a saint. The Albanian-born nun is most notably known for her work in the slums of Kolkata, India establishing Missionaries of Charity to help the poor and destitute from 1950 until her death in 1997 at the age of 87.
“After due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother bishops, we declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to be a saint, and we enroll her among the saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole church,” Francis said at the ceremony where about 1,500 homeless people from across Italy were bused into the Vatican to be given seats of honor at the Mass.
This is not the only accolade Mother Teresa has earned over the years, in 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee had said that her spirit and the respect she had for the worth of human beings had inspired many other constructive efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty.
In recent years, critics of Mother Teresa have come forward in increasing numbers with accusations of misusing charity funds and poor quality of conditions in some of her charities. Some taking to Twitter to use the hashtag #fraudteresa on Saturday and Sunday during the ceremony in Vatican City, outperforming #MotherTeresa and #SaintTeresa.
Mother Teresa will be now be known as “the saint of the gutters” for Catholics, but Pope Francis recognized that followers may have difficulty referring to her as “Saint Teresa.” “With great spontaneity, I think we will continue to call her Mother Teresa,” Francis said.
