Mother Teresa to be canonised in September confirms Vatican

The Vatican has confirmed that Mother Teresa will be canonised a saint in September as Pope Francis has issued a decree. She will be declared a saint of the Roman Catholic on 4 September, a day before her 19<sup>th death anniversary.

The pontiff gave his final approval during a meeting of cardinals in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. Four others were also considered by the panel during the gathering on 15 March but Mother Teresa was the only high-profile candidate.

It is unclear where the canonisation ceremony will take place but a separate event is expected in Kolkata, India, where she spent most part of her adult life. The Catholic church in India has requested the pontiff to hold the canonisation event in India but it appears unlikely.

Earlier in December, Pope Francis cleared the way for the sainthood for the Albanian nun, citing the healing of a Brazilian man who had brain infection and kidney disorder. A "medical" miracle is mandatory for the Catholic church to bestow sainthood on anyone.

Mother Teresa was beatified, the first step toward sainthood, in 2003 by the then Pope John Paul. The event was attended by 300,000 pilgrims. Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1979 for her selfless service in the slums of Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, to improve living conditions.

She is better known for her ceaseless work for the destitute, the leprosy-stricken and those living on the margins of society.

Born in 1910, Mother Teresa died at the age of 87 in 1997.