Sainthood for Mother Teresa?

Mother Teresa was a world leader, but she held no official position in the government. She was strong and powerful, but stood just 4 feet 11 inches tall. On September 5, the tiny Roman Catholic nun who dedicated her life to the world's poor, died of a heart attack She was 87.

Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in the city of Skopje, now part of Macedonia, just north of Greece, Mother Teresa spent most of her life in Calcutta, India. There, she cared for the sick, dying, and abandoned people of the slums. Mother Teresa often said that when she looked into the face of a poor person, she sew the face of God.

In 1979, Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize. "I am unworthy," she said, and accepted the award "in the name of the unwanted, unloved, and uncared for." She used the Nobel prize money to continue her charitable work.

While she was alive, millions called Mother Teresa "a living saint or the saint of the slums." Now that she has died, many wonder if Mother Teresa will eventually be designated a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

Nobel Peace Prize (page 3). The Nobel Prize for Peace is one of five Nobel Prizes awarded each year. It is awarded to a person or group of people, regardless of nationality, who has made valuable contributions to the "good of humanity" and done the "most effective work in the interest of international peace." Some past winners of this prestigious award include PLO leader Yasir Arafat, Israel's late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the environmental group Amnesty International, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Winners receive the award on December 10, in honor of the death of Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards. Each winner receives a medal and a cash award.

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