Pope will not waive second miracle for Teresa: Sr Nirmala

"No, the Holy Father will not waive it," former MC superior-general Sr Nirmala, who succeeded Mother Teresa to the post, told PTI when asked whether Pope Benedict is likely to do away with the requirement of a second miracle for a person to be 'canonised' (declared a saint).

As per the rules of the Roman Catholic church, candidates for sainthood need to have at least one posthumous miracle of a medical nature attributed to them for beatification (declaration as 'Blessed').

One more miracle needs to be attributed to the candidate after the beatification process for the person's canonisation.

After her death on September 5, 1997, Pope John Paul-II initiated a fast track sainthood process for Teresa and beatified her on October 19, 2003, over a North Bengal tribal woman Monica Besra's claim that she had been cured of a tumour at the nun's intercession.

While Besra's claim was contested by rationalists and some doctors, a section of the Catholic clergy questioned the unusual speed of the beatification process, saying Besra's claim should have been examined more carefully.

Noting that it sometimes takes centuries for a candidate to be canonised, Church sources said the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which examines claims of sainthood, was treading cautiously over Teresa's cause to avoid any controversy like the the one during her beatification.

According to Sr Nirmala, the process of documenting evidence from all over the world to establish the claim of Mother Teresa's sainthood was on under Fr Brian Kolodeijchuk, the chief postulator for her cause.

"She's still not qualified (for sainthood). But, don't give up hope. Let's wait and pray. The sainthood will come in its own time," Nirmala said.

Earlier, speaking at the inauguration of 'Twenty-20 Paintings,' an exhibition of 20 paintings each by M F Hussain and Sunita Kumar, Sr Nirmala said Hussain was so moved after his first meeting with Mother Teresa that he wept after coming out of the room.

"On seeing Mother Teresa, Hussain was reminded of his own mother whom he lost at a tender age," Nirmala said.