The Beatification of Mother Teresa

Welcome to INSPIRING LIVES, a series on lives of the Saints in the catholic church from around the world. Saints are holy people who lived ordinary lives in extraordinary ways. Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. They are examples of great holiness and virtue, and they invite us to follow their paths to holiness. Their unique stories inspire us to be rooted in our faith. God calls each one of us to be a saint.
Every month , hundreds of thousands of people converge on the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity in the Indian city of Kolkata, to pay homage to its founder, Mother Teresa of Calcutta. People from all walks of life streams into her tomb in the mother house to pray to her.
The whole of Mother Teresa’s life and labour bore witness to the joy of loving, the greatness and dignity of every human person, the value of little things done faithfully and with love, and the surpassing worth of friendship with God.
During the last three weeks we listened to the Early years of Mother Teresa, and her new found vocation to serve the poorest of the poor, what she called a ‘call within a call’ and the legacy she left behind for us.
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Today let us listen to the last days of Mother Teresa and her beatification.
During the last years of her life, despite increasingly severe health problems, Mother Teresa continued to govern her Society and respond to the needs of the poor and the Church. By 1997, Mother Teresa’s Sisters numbered nearly 4,000 members and were established in 610 foundations in 123 countries of the world. In March 1997 she blessed her newly-elected successor as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity and then made one more trip abroad. After meeting Pope John Paul II for the last time, she returned to Calcutta and spent her final weeks receiving visitors and instructing her Sisters. On 5 September Mother Teresa’s earthly life came to an end. She was given the honour of a state funeral by the Government of India.
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Mother Teresa’s body was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Her tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people of all faiths, rich and poor alike.
Less than two years after her death, in view of Mother Teresa’s widespread reputation of holiness and the favours being reported, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of her Cause of Canonization. On 20^th December 2002, the Pope approved the decrees of her heroic virtues and miracles.
Pope John Paul II beatified her on 19^th October 2003 at St. Peter’s square in Rome. It was World Mission Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of people from India and from around the world witnessed the moving ceremony, much of which was beamed live to South Asia.
During the solemn liturgical celebration at St. Peter’s square in Rome, Pope John Paul II welcomed all those who have come to witness the beatification of Mother Teresa.
voice of Pope John Paul II
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Pope John Paul II then spoke of Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Pope’s homily(read by an assistant)
Mother Teresa left a testament of unshakable faith, invincible hope and extraordinary charity. Her response to Jesus’ plea, “Come be My light,” made her a Missionary of Charity, a ‘mother to the poor’, a symbol of compassion to the world, and a living witness to the thirsting love of God.Listen to the ‘On Demand and podcast’ for the complete programmeP.J. Joseph SJ