Pope Francis has set the canonisation date, yesterday, paving the way for the nun who cared for the poorest of the poor to become the centerpiece of his yearlong focus on the Catholic Church’s merciful side. The announcement was expected after Francis in December approved a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresas intercession - the final hurdle to make her a saint. The actual date falls on the eve of the 19th anniversary of her death and is occurring during Francis’ Holy Year of Mercy. The ceremony will draw tens of thousands to honor the tiny, stooped nun who was fast-tracked for sainthood just a year after she died in 1997. St John Paul II, who was Mother Teresa’s greatest champion, beatified her before a crowd of 300,000 in St Peter’s Square in 2003. Francis, whose papacy has been dedicated to ministering to the poor just as Mother Teresa did, is a known fan. During his September 2014 visit to Albania, Francis confided to his interpreter that he was not only impressed by her fortitude, but in some ways feared it. Francis recounted that he had met Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian, when they attended a 1994 bishop synod at the Vatican together. At the time, he was Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
