September 5, the day of Mother Teresa’s canonization

Every September 5, the Roman Catholic Church commemorates Saint Mother Teresa, the canonized Albanian nun, with a liturgical feast.

In Albania, the date is an official holiday. The Council of Ministers amended the law “On official holidays,” replacing September 19, Mother Teresa’s beatification day, with September 5, the day of her canonization.

She was canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016, making the Albanian nun an enduring figure for Catholic believers and people around the world.

Mother Teresa, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, came into the world in 1910 to Albanian parents.

When she was 18, she left Skopje, North Macedonia, to join the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland. After leaving, she would never see her parents again.

Later, her mission moved to Calcutta. In the Indian city, she realized that her calling was to serve the poor and people spending the final days of their lives on the streets.

“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, I am Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. By vocation, I belong to the world. But my heart belongs entirely to the Heart of Jesus,” Mother Teresa said.

She visited Albania for the first time in August 1989. Ten years earlier, in 1979, Mother Teresa had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Several miracles have also been attributed to Saint Teresa. One of them concerns Monica Besra in Bengal, India, who was suffering from a 16-centimeter tumor-like swelling of tissue in the lower abdomen. Doctors had been unable to treat her.

On September 5, the anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death, the Mother Superior placed on Monica’s abdomen a medal of Mary that had been in direct contact with Mother Teresa’s body during the funeral, and prayed: “Mother, today is your day. You love the poor. Do something for Monica.”

After about 8 hours, Monica’s tumor had completely disappeared.

The second miracle concerns the healing of Marcilio Andrino in 2008. An infection in his brain had caused several abscesses to form.

His wife, Fernanda, placed a relic of Mother Teresa on her husband’s head and prayed for his recovery. On December 9, 2008, after experiencing severe pain, Marcilio fell into a coma. The following day, the doctor who was to operate on him found that he had awoken, while a scan showed several days later that the disease had disappeared.