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H S Rao London
Mother Teresa could be declared a saint within two years, thanks largely to the testimony of a woman in Raiganj in West Bengal, who says she was cured of a potentially fatal tumour after a medallion depicting the late Nobel laureate was put on her swollen abdomen.
Experts say the remarkable recovery of Monika Besra, the Raiganj tribal woman, is one of the most powerful miracles supporting Mother Teresa's cause.
According to media reports, the Vatican will examine a secret 36,000-page report into the life, beliefs and miracles of the founder of the Missionaries of Charity Order, who died in 1997 at the age of 87.
The 76-volume report follows a two-year investigation by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, a Canadian priest appointed as chief postulator, or overseer, of the cause to declare Mother Teresa a saint.
Kolodiejchuk has to write a comprehensive biography of Mother Teresa, which he says could take one to two years.
Besra, mother of five and one among more than 100 witnesses who testified for the report, had been diagnosed in September 1998 as having a large tumour in her uterus.
"For two months I had severe pain. I was not able to sleep," Besra said in a statement, which will shortly be sent to the Pope.
"The probe found it had met the essential requisites of being organic, immediate and permanent in nature. Renowned physicians have certified that the disappearance of the tumour was nothing short of a miracle," Henry D'souza, the archbishop of Calcutta, said.
PTI
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