Homeless Will Be Guests of Honor at Beatification of Mother Teresa

Vatican City, Oct 14, 2003 / 22:00 pm

This Sunday, October 19, 2,000 homeless people from Rome, accompanied by 1,000 members of the Missionaries of Charity, will be the guests of honor at the beatification of Mother Teresa, the tireless apostle of the poor. 

The Missionaries of Charity--who have been charged with preparations for the ceremony-- have sought to emphasize the original vocation of their religious order, to serve "the poorest of the poor," by reserving preferential seating for the people Mother Teresa loved so dearly.

At the end of Mass, the homeless will be invited to a special banquet that the Missionaries of Charity will host at the Paul VI Auditorium.

The Holy See expects 200,000 people from all over the world to attend the ceremony of Beatification in St. Peter’s Square.

About 175,000 tickets have already been distributed through the Missionaries of Charity, but organizers expect a considerable last-minute rush for places at the ceremonies, producing a congregation similar in size to those that attended the canonizations of Sts. Padre Pio and Josemaria Escriva.

There are now 4,514 members of the Missionaries of Charity, from 89 different countries. They are working in 132 nations, serving 710 homes for the poor--of which 228 are in India. There are also 369 male religious associated with the order, and 26 missionary priests.