Mother Teresa to be declared “Saint” on Sunday by Pope Francis

Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be made a Catholic saint on Sunday by Pope Francis.

She was one of the most influential women in the Church’s 2,000-year history, known for her works of charity amongst the poor in the slums of Kolkata, an Indian city.

She was born Agnese Gonxha Bojaxhiu of Albanian parents in 1910 and became a nun at 16. Mother Teresa moved to India in 1929 where she gained worldwide recognition for her work which won her a  Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She died of a heart attack on Sept. 5, 1997 and was beatified in 2003.

The late Pope John Paul II bent Vatican rules to fast track her cause for sainthood to be launched two years after her death instead of the usual five.

According to Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, the Canadian priest who promoted the cause, hundreds of thousands of faithful are expected to attend the canonization service to be held in front of St. Peter’s basilica.

glean: SUN