"For the honour of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and our own, 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 be saint and we enroll her among the saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole Church. In the name of the Holy Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
Capping a process that stretched on for almost 20 years, Pope Francis on Sunday formally declared Mother Teresa, the “nun of the gutters” who was a champion for the poor, the dying and the unborn, the newest saint of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis, however, acknowledged the obvious on Sunday, saying that despite the fact she now has a formal title as St. Teresa of Calcutta, to the world she’ll always remain “Mother Teresa.”
After the declaration of canonisation by Pope Francis, the relics of the saint were brought to the altar. The reliquary containing the relic of Mother Teresa, a vile of her blood, is in the shape of a Cross framed in gold, the back of which is made from a Lebanon cedar, known as an emblem of nobility and beauty.
The back of the cross is also made of wood coming from areas marked by great suffering, as well as a piece of wood from the kneeler of a confessional as a symbol of forgiveness.
On the front..., the cross is framed by a heart consisting of two parts, blue and white to represent the sari of Mother Teresa and her sisters, as well as devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The left side of the cross, which is blue, is curved and bent to represent Mother Teresa's own curved form bent in prayer, while the right side, white, is a softer form and contains Mother Teresa's famous words "I Thirst," written in gold in her original handwriting.
The two sides of the heart are detached from each other, but are united by a circular line symbolizing the dynamic of Mother Teresa's mission, which was initiated by Christ and brought to completion in him.
The reliquary actually holding the relic of Mother Teresa is shaped like a drop of water, which is enough to quench the thirst of those who still cry out for the water of love, and for those who suffer due to the senseless pain of solitude.
- Crux - coverage of Mother Teresa
- Whispers in the Loggia - "May She Be Your Model of Holiness!" – With The World Watching, Mother Teresa Declared Saint
- Catholic Herald - coverage of Mother Teresa
- Salt + Light - Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis Holy Mass and Rite of Canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
- Salt + Light - The Face of Mercy in Calcutta’s Gutters: Mother Teresa to be proclaimed a Saint
- CNA - This journalist first told the world about Mother Teresa
- CNA - Mother Teresa has officially been declared a saint!
- CNA - Pope Francis: Mother Teresa shows us our 'vocation to charity'
- Saint of the Darkness—The Full Interview
- St. Teresa of Calcutta How this humble woman opened her heart to the poor and, as a result, changed the world
- iBenedictines - The Three Teresas and The Secret of Sanctity
- 6 Things to read to get to know Mother Teresa - A word of warning -- she's dangerously compelling
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