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Mother Teresa To Be Made A Saint On Sept. 4

VATICAN CITY (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mother Teresa will be made a saint on Sept. 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.

Many in New York were thrilled to hear the news.

"I think it's very important that we have good role models for kids growing up right now and she was a great role model," one woman told CBS2.

"I think she deserves it," a man said.

"She did so much for the poor and I think it's wonderful," another woman said.

The actual date falls on the eve of the 19th anniversary of her death. Mother Teresa, who was a Nobel peace laureate, died in 1997 at the age of 87.

Mother Teresa had a revelation in her youth of God telling her to give up everything and follow him to the slums and serve him among the poorest of the poorest, CBS2's Mary Calvi reported. She became the head of a small group of nuns, focusing on those suffering and dying, and started a global charity to care for the unwanted and the unloved.

Her visit to the South Bronx drew large crowds, when she gave a tour of her mission there to the late Princess Diana.

The pope's 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.

At the time, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the pope's decision to canonize Mother Teresa came as no surprise to him.

"Because they're very much alike. There's nothing artificial about them. What you see is what you get," Dolan said in December. "There's a simplicity, a sincerity, there's a warmth and a radiance that just comes from their persona."

 

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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