October 19th: The Day Mother Teresa was 3/4 a Saint

October 19th 2003 marked the day Mother Teresa of Calcutta was beatified by Pope John Paul II. This achievement meant she had passed the third stage (of four) of canonization in the Catholic Church. By becoming beatified, Mother Teresa is now acknowledged as 'Blessed', and if she is awarded the final step of canonization, she will become a saint, hence be among the canon of recognized saints.

Saint Teresa?

   Although Mother Teresa died September 5th 1997, her miracles and missionary work for the poor, sick, orphaned and dying continues to be praised. She declared:"By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world.  As to my heart, I belong entirely to the heart of Jesus." Mother Teresa was the founder of the Missionaries of Charity - an organization that today runs in 133 countries by 4,500 sisters - and was the leading role model in her dedication and determination in helping the poorest of the poor. Her efforts were accredited in the 'Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century', in which Mother Teresa was voted first; and also she was the recipient of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.

   Her beatification in 2003 arose after the Vatican recognised the miraculous healing of a tumour in the abdomen of Monica Besra and connected her recovery with her locket containing Mother Teresa's picture. The woman claimed a celestial light beamed from the locket and cured the cancerous tumour.

   However, there have been several contradictions to this "miracle". Besra's husband and several of her medical staff all argue it was conventional medical treatment that healed the tumour. Dr Ranjan Mustafi, Besra's doctor, told The New York Times that the cyst was not cancerous in the first place: "It was not a miracle. [...] She took medicines for nine months to one year." Whether or not this was a miracle by Mother Teresa in spiritual form, or just medicine doing its job, the beatification took place the following year. This means that there needs to be a second miracle discovered in order for Mother Teresa to be considered a saint. Even if this does not occur, the remarkable and charitable nature of this woman is a model that people should celebrate and aspire to in itself.