With just a few hours remaining for Mother Teresa's sainthood, Kolkata, where the nun lived and worked all her life, turned into a spiritual mood on Saturday with people braving heavy rain to visit the city's Mother House.
Mother will be declared a saint by Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday in the presence of over a lakh of her followers from all over the world.
A series of events are being held in Kolkata to mark the occasion. Special masses and celebrations are planned on Sunday in several churches.
Nuns at Mother House plan to celebrate the occasion with the poorest of the poor. Mother House, the Nobel Laureate's final resting place, has been a pilgrimage centre for Christians.
Mother Teresa's elevation to Catholicism's celestial pantheon comes on the eve of the 19th anniversary of her death in Kolkata whose slums are synonymous with her.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is leading India's official 12-member delegation. Two state government-level delegations from Delhi and West Bengal led by Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee, respectively, will also be in attendance during the function.
Besides Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D'Souza, about 45 bishops from all over India are now in Vatican.
(With inputs from agencies)
