Thiruvananthapuram: Six lakh faithful are expected to attend the canonization of Teresa of Calcutta by Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square at 2:30 IST on Sunday. The Pope led a prayer vigil for the Mother in the Vatican on Saturday, attended by thousands of the faithful. The sainthood is being conferred 19 years after the death of the Mother in Calcutta on September 5, 1997. The ceremony starts with Hymn of the Jubilee and the invocation of the Holy Spirit. A prelate then petitions the Holy See to enrol the Mother among the saints. This is followed by the litany of supplication (the litany of saints). The formula of canonization starts soon after. The Pope will declare Blessed Teresa of Calcutta as a saint, to be venerated by the whole Catholic Church.
Once the sainthood ceremony is over, the Holy Mass follows, with readings from epistles and the Gospel. The Gospel for the day is on Christ’s teaching: “None of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions”. The quintessential part of the Mass- the Liturgy of the Eucharist- marking the communion of the body and blood of Jesus Christ follows. The Mass ends with Angelus- Hail Mary- and the Papal blessing. A group of around 40 to 50 nuns from different parts of the country will be present at the ceremony, led by Missionaries of Charity Superior-General Sr Mary Prema. Besides, 45 bishops from all over the country, including Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D’Souza, Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Major Arch Bishop of the Syro Malankara Church and Cardinal Mar George Alencherry of the Syro Malabar church are also attending.
Mother Teresa autograph
The people of Kolkata where Mother Teresa lived and worked are awaiting the finale of the Mother’s sainthood. On Saturday, the faithful paid homage at Mother House- headquarters of Missionaries of Charity-braving the incessant rain that lashed Calcutta since morning. Sisters at Mother House have organised a special prayer for Mother on Sunday. "Tomorrow, I would visit Mother House to pray for her. If she was with us today she would have accepted this honour for the sake of the poor. The second miracle was authenticated by the Vatican and it is a proud moment for all of us that she would be canonized," said Missionaries of Charity’s Sunita Kumar, who was also a confidante of the Mother.
Ms Kumar recalled: "Days before death she was being shifted from one hospital to another. As she was being moved out to the other hospital in an ambulance, she asked the driver, 'Kemon Acho Ajay?' (How are you Ajay?). When I had asked her how she knew him, she said that she had made friends with all of them."Besides the special prayer at Mother House, giant screens have been put up for live coverage of her canonisation. The West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), which set up the Mother's Wax Museum, has put up screens at vantage locations in New Town.
Gautam Lewis, once a polio-stricken child who found his home at Missionaries of Charity, will release 'Mora Gaang' - a song dedicated to the Mother. The song will be launched simultaneously across 220 countries on Sunday. Lewis is also organising an exhibition of photographs depicting Mother Teresa's life and his own childhood and "Mother Teresa and Me" -- a film documenting the orphanage where he once lived. ArchbishopThomas D'Souza said: "Her legacy continues through us and it inspires us to help the poorest of the poor. The event should not end on the celebration but should lead us to action. The government, Church and the people from all walks of life should lend a helping hand to the poor." On Monday, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, will celebrate the mass of thanksgiving and Feast of St Teresa of Calcutta in St Peter’s Basilica. The veneration of the relics of St Teresa will be held at St John Lateran in the evening the same day and next day.
