Mother Teresa to be Beatified on October 19

Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be beatified by His Holiness Pope John Paul II on October 19 at the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Called a living saint, Mother Teresa worked for the poorest of the poor first in Calcutta, India, and soon all over the world. She founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation of women dedicated to the work that Mother Teresa had begun. In the Philippines the Missionaries of Charity have set up houses and apostolates in the Archdioceses of Manila, Cebu, Davao, Lingayen-Dagupan, Palo and Caceres, and the Dioceses of Antipolo, Iba and Kalibo. Mother Teresa personally saw to the putting up of the House for Dying Destitutes in Tayuman and the Alay ng Puso (Children’s home and Center for Street Children) in Del Pan, Tondo.

Archbishop Antonio Franco, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, in a letter to Fr. James B. Reuter, head of the National Office of Mass Media, said that Mother Teresa’s power of faith and love has moved the hearts of millions of people of all walks of life in the world.

She (Mother Teresa) evangelized the world by renouncing herself and loving God’s poor with no limits. She commands our attention and demands our commitment,” he said.

Archbishop Franco also announced the program of the transmission of the celebration to be preside by Pope John Paul II. It goes as follows:

Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be beatified at Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Sunday, October 19, 2003. His Holiness Pope John Paul II will preside over the celebration.

The beatification will be televised, live by satellite, all over the world, with full commentaries in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Ukrainian and Italian.

The ceremony will take place from 8:55 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Vatican. The Philippines is seven hours ahead of Rome in time, so it will be seen and heard here in this country while it is actually happening from 3:55 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 19, 2003.’