Pope Approves Mother Teresa Miracle

Pope John Paul II brought Mother Teresa closer to sainthood Friday when he approved a miracle attributed to the nun who dedicated her life to the poor.

The Vatican said the nun's work in the past century had made her a "world emblem of Christian charity" and that a "vast movement" in support of society's most marginalized was inspired by her example

The miracle allows a beatification ceremony, scheduled for Oct. 19 in Rome, her order said. A second miracle would make Mother Teresa eligible for sainthood.

At Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity house in Calcutta, India, nuns celebrated by passing out candies to nearly 100 orphans.

"The mood is joyous. It's great news for us," Sister Priscilla said. "This is something very special, not only to India, but to the whole world."

As a sign of admiration for Mother Teresa's dedication to the destitute, the pope waived the customary five-year waiting period to begin procedures that can lead to canonization. Mother Teresa died in 1997 at the age of 87.

The miracle attributed to her involves a young Indian woman with a stomach tumor who recovered after a picture of Mother Teresa was placed on her abdomen.

Her recovery was judged to be without any medical explanation by a panel of doctors consulted by the Vatican.

"May all the sick, the suffering, and those who seek Gods help find a friend and intercessor in Mother," the Missionaries of Charity said in a statement.

The miracle was endorsed by a Vatican committee in the fall and formally approved by the pope Friday in a solemn ceremony in the Apostolic Palace.

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints, outlined Mother Teresa's "heroic virtues" to the pope at the ceremony, saying her work with the poor in Calcutta's slums had made her a "world emblem of Christian charity."

A "vast movement" in support of society's most marginalized was launched by her example, he said.

The Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, who was appointed postulator to oversee the process, has said his review of Mother Teresa's virtues also contained criticism of her.

One detractor, British journalist Christopher Hitchens, has said he testified in the beatification process. Hitchens' 1995 book, "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice," accused the tiny, stooped nun of consoling and supporting the wealthy and powerful while preaching resignation to the poor.

In particular, Hitchens criticized Mother Teresa for praising Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and taking donations from disgraced American financier Charles Keating.

But in a document prepared for the beatification cause, Kolodiejchuk said the depths of Mother Teresa's holiness "place her among the ranks of the great mystics of the Church."

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on Aug. 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia. In 1949, she founded the Missionaries of Charity in India.

Tiny and frail, she cared for Calcutta's impoverished and sick, toiling daily and for long hours even when she was elderly and ailing herself. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Her order has opened places to provide comfort and care for the needy, sick and poor.

John Paul has stressed saint-making in his papacy as a way of giving the faithful models of Catholics whose lives reflect their beliefs in goodness and courage.

The pope has elevated more than 460 people to sainthood in his 24 years as pope.

In all, the pope approved 14 miracles Friday, including those for two Croats, Maria Di Gesu Crocifisso Petkovic and Ivan Merz, who are expected to be beatified when John Paul travels to Croatia next spring.

The pope also approved second miracles for Bishop Daniele Comboni, an Italian who founded a missionary order that worked extensively in Africa, and the Rev. Joseph Freinademetz, who worked for years in China, which does not recognize the Vatican and allows Chinese Catholics to worship only at state-sanctioned churches.