Pope Francis declares Mother Teresa a saint in highlight of his Holy Year of Mercy
Pope Francis on Sunday declared revered nun Mother Teresa a saint in a canonisation mass at St Peter's square.
"For the honour of the Blessed Trinity... we declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Kolkata) to be a Saint and we enroll her among the Saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole Church," the pontiff said in Latin.
Hundreds of Missionaries of Charity sisters in their trademark blue-trimmed saris had front-row seats at the Mass alongside 1,500 homeless people and 13 heads of state or government, including Queen Sofia of Spain.
The elevation of one of the icons of 20th Century Christianity came a day before the 19th anniversary of her death in Kolkata, the Indian city where she spent nearly four decades working with the dying and the destitute.
Pope Francis is following in the footsteps of Mother Teresa by offering some 1,500 homeless people a pizza lunch at the Vatican after her canonization Mass.
The homeless, most of who live in shelters run by Mother Teresa's Sisters of Charity order, came to Rome overnight on buses from across Italy to take part in Sunday's Mass.
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