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Vatican: Mother Teresa To Be Made A Saint In September

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VATICAN CITY (CBS NEWS) - Mother Teresa will be made a saint on September 4.

Pope Francis set the canonization date Tuesday, 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 Teresa's 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.

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