The Making of a Saint Adapted from “The Making of a Saint” by Mick Brown

The Making of a Saint

 Ever since Mother Teresa died, the Church has been keen to make her a saint. But they needed proof of a “miracle”.  In June 1999, two years after the death of Mother Teresa, Monika Besra, an illiterate tribal woman from West Bengal came to pray at the convent of the Missionaries of Charity (MoC) – the burial place of its founder, Mother Teresa.  Besra was suffering from an enlarged ovarian tumour which threatened to kill her. After prayers from two sister, her tumour vanished.

The Making of a Saint  Since 1999, many committees and tribunals have been carefully sifting through information about Mother Teresa’ life to see whether it conforms to the standards of “heroic Christian virtue” necessary for her to be declared a saint.  It is also necessary for this process that at least one “intercessory” miracle be attributed to Mother Teresa. The healing of Monika Besra is claimed to be that miracle.

The Making of a Saint  Mother Teresa’s beatification is remarkable in that there was much pressure on the Vatican to begin the process of beatification. Under Canon Law there must be five years between the death of the person and the beginning of the process. Pope John Paul II waived this ruling and allowed the process to begin just two years after her death.  Rules for Canonisation came into being because during the Middle Ages there were many people being declared saints without due process and thorough investigation. It led to many unsatisfactory people being canonised.

The Making of a Saint  The process is now controlled by the Pope and is very rigorous and lengthy. The amount of time between a person being declared “Blessed” and final canonisation varies depending on the length of time that it takes for miracles to be reported and confirmed.

The Making of a Saint  The Process for Mother Teresa was as follows:  A proposer (Fr Brian Kolodiejchuk) began to collect evidence about her life.  113 people were interviewed – church and civic leaders, patients in her homes, Hindu’s, Muslims. They had to answer 263 questions each.  This information was broken down in 3 basic sections – a biography, a section on “Reputation of Holiness” and an evaluation on her adherence to the virtues of faith, hope and charity; prudence, justice, courage, temperance and humility; along with three religious vows of chastity, obedience and poverty.

The Making of a Saint  Vatican rules also require evidence from people who are antagonists or hostile witnesses to the process.  The miracle of Monika Besra was deemed to be acceptable because her medical records showed the tumour that she had was so large that it made her look like she was six months pregnant. On the anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death, Besra was in hospital receiving treatment for the pain which was so extreme. Two sister’s prayed over her and placed a medal on her stomach that had touched Mother Teresa. Within eight hours, the tumour had totally disappeared.

The Making of a Saint  Besra was then examined by a series of doctors and underwent various scans and tests which confirmed that there was no longer any trace of the ovarian tumour.  One of her doctors said:  “To say this is a miracle is technically difficult for us (as doctors). But I will say that to the best of my knowledge as a doctor, this case is inexplicable, and I stand by that.”

The Making of a Saint  While the healing of Monika Besra might make a compelling case for the “scientifically inexplicable”, to believe it was a miracle requires the one thing that shaped the entire course of Mother Teresa’s life: faith.  Mother Teresa lived a faith filled life. She accepted God’s call to live a life of humble service to the poor and destitute of Calcutta.