Pope John Paul II beatifies Mother Teresa

Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa of Calcutta before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims at the St Peter's Square at the Vatican on October 19, 2003. Blessed Mother Teresa, as she will be known, was beatified only six years after her death, making it the shortest beatification process in the history of the Catholic Church.

Born Agnesa Gonxha Boiaxhiu on August 26, 1910 to ethnic Albanian parents in Skopje, Mother made India her home since 1929. Albania's government created a new national holiday, on October 19 every year starting in 2003, to mark the beatification of Mother Teresa.

Beatification is the first step in the run up to possible canonization. Blessed Mother Teresa is now a step closer to sainthood.

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