Greg Toppo

USATODAY

Pope Francis said Tuesday that Mother Teresa will become a saint on Sept. 4.

‎Affectionately known as the "saint of the gutter" for her unconditional ‎love ‎for the poor, abandoned and marginalized, Mother Teresa earned several international honors, including ‎the ‎Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. ‎

She died Sept. 5, ‎‎1997, in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, the eastern Indian city where she spent decades doing her work. She was 87.

Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003 by Pope John Paul II after a first miracle was attributed to her, answering an Indian woman's prayers to cure her brain tumor, according to the Vatican. One miracle is needed for beatification — described by the Catholic Church as recognition of a person's entrance into heaven — while sainthood requires two.

Francis officially cleared Mother Teresa for sainthood on Dec. 17, 2015, recognizing her "miraculous healing" of a Brazilian man with multiple brain abscesses, the Vatican said.

Pope John Paul II put Mother Teresa on the fast track toward sainthood.

Without dispensation from the pope, five years must pass from the time of the candidate’s death before an examination can begin. A bishop is placed in charge of the initial examination of the candidate’s life. Once deemed worthy by the Vatican, the candidate is called a “Servant of God.”

In Mother Teresa's case, the examination began almost immediately after her death in 1997, the Vatican said.

She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu‎ of Albanian parents on ‎Aug. 26, 1910, in Skopje, in what ‎is now ‎Macedonia. She joined the Loreto order of nuns in 1928.

In 1946, while traveling by train from Kolkata to Darjeeling, she was inspired to found the Missionaries of Charity order. The order was established four years later and has since opened more than 130 houses worldwide to provide comfort and care for the needy.

While her actions gained widespread admiration, Mother Teresa was not beloved by all and was criticized for the quality of care in her clinics and taking donations from Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and disgraced American financier Charles Keating, according to the Associated Press.

By the time of her death, Mother Teresa's India-based Missionaries of Charity supported 4,000 nuns and ran hundreds of orphanages, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and clinics around the world.

Francis, who has made outreach to the poor a priority for the Catholic Church, met Mother Teresa more than two decades ago while he was Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina. He is known for admiring her ministry as well as her fearlessness in speaking out on behalf of society’s outcasts.

“I would have been afraid to have had her as my superior, since she was so tough,” he once joked.

Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY

THE MAKING OF A SAINT

Pope Francis has approved the second miracle by Mother Teresa, making it possible for her to become a saint. A look at the path to becoming a saint.

Five years must pass from the time of the candidate’s death before an examination can begin. The pope can dispense with this waiting period. A bishop is placed in charge of the initial examination of the candidate’s life. Once deemed worthy by the Vatican, the candidate is called a “Servant of God.”

Pope John Paul II put Mother Teresa on the fast track for possible sainthood when he allowed the beatification examination process to begin less than two years after her 1997 death.

A church official coordinates the process, serving as an advocate for the candidate and must prove he or she lived heroic virtues. Once the examination is complete, the documentation is passed on to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. Upon approval, a candidate earns the title of "Venerable."

The official approval looked at aspects of Mother Teresa’s character, including categories like knowledge and humility, strength of convictions, courage, unity, forgiveness and social justice.

For the beatification of a Servant of God, one miracle must be proved through the appropriate canonical examination, in addition to recognition of heroic virtues. With beatification, the candidate receives the title of “Blessed.”

In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa after the Vatican recognized the healing miracle of an Indian woman prayers to Mother Teresa, which caused her brain tumors to disappear.

For canonization, a second miracle is required after beatification, though a pope may waive these requirements. Once a second miracle has been affirmed by the candidate’s intercession, the pope can declare the title of “Saint.”

The Vatican said in December 2015 that the healing of a Brazilian man with multiple brain tumors was approved as a miracle by Pope Francis. The Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata canonization ceremony will take place on Sept. 4.

SOURCES: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, www.catholicdoors.com, AP and USA TODAY research; PHOTO: AP