SaintTeresa: Mother of the destitute elevated to sainthood | Pix, Video
MotherTeresa's sainthood ceremony
» Pope Francis declares Mother Teresa a Saint
» A relic of Saint Teresa of Kolkata - her blood - is placed at the altar at the Vatican
» St Teresa was a generous giver of mercy, Pope Francis tells crowds at St.Peter's square
» Hundreds and thousands of pilgrims witnessed the ceremony at Vatican
Vatican City: Mother Teresa, known as the "saint of the gutters" during her life, was declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Francis on Sunday, fast-tracked to canonization just 19 years after her death.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims packed St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for a service to honor the tiny nun, who worked among the world's neediest in the slums of the Indian city now called Kolkata and become one of the most recognizable faces of the 20th century.
Pope Francis passes in front a portrait of Mother Teresa as he is driven through the crowd at the end of a canonization ceremony in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican on Sunday. Photo: AP
Pope Francis celebrates a Holy Mass during the canonization of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, on Saint Peter's square in the Vatican. Photo: Reuters
Nuns of the Missionary of Charity, the religious order founded by Mother Teresa of Kolkata, carry the mother's relics in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican. Photo: AFP
An Indian nun showers rose petals as she pays obeisance to a statue of Mother Teresa unveiled at a church in Chennai. Photo: AFP
Pope Francis leads a mass for the canonization of Mother Teresa of Kolkata in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican. Photo: Reuters
Pope Francis arrives to lead a Holy Mass and canonization of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, on Saint Peter's square in the Vatican. Photo: AFP
Pope Francis kisses the altar in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican.
Indian Nuns from the Catholic Order of the Missionaries of Charity and others, watch a live telecast of the canonization of Mother Teresa from Rome, at The Mother House in Kolkata. Photo: AFP
Faithful attend the Holy Mass and canonization of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, on Saint Peter's square in the Vatican.
A resident walks past posters of Mother Teresa on the eve of the canonization of Mother Teresa. Photo: AFP
A man walks past a religious souvenir shop displaying a picture of Mother Teresa ahead of her canonization ceremony, in Kolkata. Photo: Reuters
Indian Nuns from the Catholic Order of the Missionaries of Charity and others, watch a live telecast of the canonization of Mother Teresa from Rome, at The Mother House in Kolkata.
"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.
Standing under a canvas hung from St. Peter's Basilica showing the late nun in her blue-hemmed white robes, Francis said she was a "dispenser of divine mercy" and held world powers to account "for the crimes of poverty they created". "For Mother Teresa, mercy was the salt which gave flavor to her work, it was the light which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering."
A Nobel peace laureate, her legacy complements Pope Francis's vision of a humble church that strives to serve the poor, and the festivities in her honor are a highlight of his Holy Year of Mercy, which runs until Nov. 8.
The ceremony came a day before the 19th anniversary of Teresa's death in Kolkata, where she spent nearly four decades tending to the poorest of the poor.
With the 16th century basilica of St Peter's and an azure sky providing the backdrop, the faithful basked in the late summer sun as the Pope presided over a ritual mass that has barely changed for centuries.
Such was the demand from pilgrims, the Vatican could easily have issued double the number of tickets but for space and security restrictions.
Helicopters had earlier buzzed over the headquarters of the Roman Catholic church, testifying to the huge but relatively discreet security operation under way. Some 3,000 officers were on duty to ensure the day passed off peacefully.
Among the assembled crowd were some 1,500 poor people looked after by the Italian branches of Mother Teresa's order, the Missionaries of Charity.
After the mass they were to be Pope's guests at the Vatican for a giant pizza lunch served by 250 sisters and 50 male members of the order.
Mother Teresa spent all her adult life in India, first teaching, then tending to the dying poor.
It was in the latter role, at the head of her now worldwide order that Mother Teresa became one of the most famous women on the planet.
Born to Kosovan Albanian parents in Skopje - then part of the Ottoman empire, now the capital of Macedonia - she won the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize and was revered around the world as a beacon for the values of self-sacrifice and charity.
Miracles of St Teresa
Pope John Paul II, who met her often, put her on a fast track to elevation two years after her death instead of the usual five.
The Church defines as saints those believed to have led such holy lives they are now in Heaven and can intercede with God to perform miracles - two of which are needed to confer sainthood.
She is credited with healing an Indian woman from stomach cancer in 1998 and a Brazilian man from a brain infection in 2008.
In Kolkata, where the first MoC mission was set up in 1952, there were prayers, talks and cultural events, but no major ceremony.
Delegation from Kerala and rest of India
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and her 12-member Indian delegation including Lok Sabha MPs Prof K.V. Thomas, Jose K Mani, Anto Antony and and Conrad K Sangma witnessed the canonization ceremony.
Mamata Banerjee led the West Bengal delegation at the ceremony.
Supreme Court justice Kurian Joseph, eminent lawyer Harish Salve, Secretary General of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India Theodore Mascarenhas and K J Alphons were also present.
Delegations from at least 15 national governments were also at the Vatican.
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