The poor, the suffering and those who minister to them will be at the centre of celebrations leading up to the canonisation of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata at the Vatican.
The main event– the canonisation Mass – will begin at 10.30 am on September 4, the Vatican announced.
A “family feast” for the poor, a musical, Masses and prayer vigils will precede her canonisation, according to programmes published by the Vatican and by the Missionaries of Charity, the order she founded.
Known as the “saint of the gutters”, Mother Teresa was revered for ministering to the sick and the dying in some of the world’s poorest neighbourhoods. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910 to an ethnic Albanian family in Skopje, in what is now part of Macedonia, Mother Teresa went to India as a Sister of Loreto in 1929.
Following her death St John Paul II waived the usual five-year waiting period and allowed the opening of the process to declare her sainthood. She was beatified in 2003.
The date of Mother Teresa’s canonisation will coincide with the conclusion of the Year of Mercy pilgrimage for workers and ministers engaged in works of mercy.
On September 1 will be a “feast for the poor and Missionaries of Charity family”, including a musical based on Mother Teresa’s life.
On September 2 there will be Masses in various languages in Rome’s Basilica of St Anastasia al Palatino and veneration of her relics. In the evening, a prayer vigil with solemn Eucharistic adoration will be held at Rome’s Basilica of St John Lateran.
Pope Francis will offer catechesis on September 3 for the jubilee celebration of workers and volunteers for mercy. In the evening, a prayer and musical meditation will be held at Rome’s Basilica of St Andrea della Valle followed by veneration of Mother Teresa’s relics and Mass.
After the canonisation pilgrims will be able to venerate St Teresa’s relics in the evening at the Basilica of St John Lateran. A Mass of thanksgiving and the first feast of St Teresa of Kolkata will be held the next day in St Peter’s Basilica. On September 7-8, veneration of the relics will continue at Rome’s Church of St Gregory the Great, along with the possibility of visiting her room at the convent of St Gregory.
Joe Biden is criticised for presiding at a gay wedding
Three us bishops have accused vice-president Joe Biden of creating confusion over Church teaching on marriage and “the corresponding moral obligations of Catholics”, after he officiated at a same-sex wedding.
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the US bishops’ conference, was joined by two bishops’ conference chairmen in writing a blog post about Biden, who is Catholic, presiding at a same-sex wedding of two White House aides. Signing on to the blog were Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, New York, and Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami. “The two strands of the dignity of the person and the dignity of marriage and the family are interwoven. To pull apart one is to unravel the whole fabric,” they wrote.
“When a prominent Catholic politician publicly and voluntarily officiates at a ceremony to solemnise the relationship of two people of the same sex, confusion arises regarding Catholic teaching on marriage and the corresponding moral obligations of Catholics,” they said. “What we see is a counter-witness, instead of a faithful one founded in the truth.”
Pope: we must learn to forgive
People need to experience God’s forgiveness and start learning how to forgive others, Pope Francis has said during a day-long visit to Assisi.
“Too many people are caught up in resentment and harbour hatred because they are incapable of forgiving,” the Pope said at the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels. He ended his talk by asking the Franciscan friars and bishops present to go to one of the confessionals and be available to offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.