Mother Teresa qualifies for beatification

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican gave its approval Oct. 1 to a miracle attributed to the intervention of Mother Teresa, paving the way for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning nun to be beatified as early as next spring.

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints ruled that the cure in 1998 of Monika Besra, an Indian woman suffering from a stomach tumor, had no scientific explanation and was caused by prayers to Mother Teresa.

Acting with unusual speed, the congregation certified the miracle exactly one week after approving the “heroic virtues” Sept. 24 of the nun who died on Sept. 5, 1997, in Calcutta, India, at the age of 87.

Pope John Paul II, who made no secret of his admiration for Mother Teresa during her lifetime, is expected to sign the decrees at his annual audience with the congregation in mid-December and set a date in the spring, possibly May, for her beatification.

Beatification is the last step before sainthood, which normally takes many decades, sometimes centuries to achieve. It is unprecedented for a candidate to be declared blessed less than six years after death.