Mother Teresa to be officially declared as saint, four stages of canonisation

Mother Teresa will be canonised on Sunday, September 4. This will be the official recognition of Teresa’s sainthood. After this, she will then be called Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

What is canonisation?

It is a religious process in which a Christian preacher is included in the list or canon of saints of the Christian Church.

Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, M C on Sunday will ask the Pope that the name of the Blessed Mother Teresa be written in the Book of Saints.

Saints are named only after a formal process of canonisation. Thereafter, their name is added to the Catalogue of Saints.

Following are the four stages of canonisation:

Servant of God

The first step starts with ‘Servant of God’, which usually opens no sooner than five years after the death of the person being considered for sainthood.

Since Mother Teresa was a living saint, Pope John Paul II in 1999 waived the normal five-year waiting period, clearing Mother Teresa for immediate consideration for canonization.

Veneration

The second step involves gathering testimony, public and private writings, and getting them examined which has to be established by the Diocese.

A decision is then taken on the candidate’s exceptional virtue and dedication to God, if permission is granted, Bishop’s report goes to Rome.

The summary of it is then presented to the Congregation for Causes of Saints, where 9 theologians scrutinize the evidence and documentation.

After it is passed by majority, it goes to the Pope; once recognised by the Pontiff, the candidate is called ‘Venerable.’

Beatification

It basically means declaration by Pope that a dead person has united with God or is in a state of bliss. This step also requires approval of a miracle, which will serve as evidence of intercessory power of the Venerable Servant of God. Not only this, a scientific and theological investigation is carried out in order to prove the worth or existence of miracle.

A second miracle is needed to take the process forward towards canonisation. Mother Teresa’s first miracle was when in 2002 a Bengali tribal woman Monica Besra’s abdomen tumour was healed.

In 2015, a second miracle involving a Brazilian man with brain tumours was recognised.

Saint

After the Catholic Church has got the manifestation of the person’s connection with God, the person is declared as saint.

Cost of canonisation

Sources claimed the cost of Mother Teresa’s canonization has been less than Rs 50 lakh.