So the Roman Catholic Church has this process of venerating their historical figures, veneration that comes very uncomfortably close to idol worshipping, but which they have been doing for ages.
For those who die after a long and distinguished life, there are many ways to enter the pantheon of the church, and then become an idol yourself that people pray to, like the venerable Maria and the saints of old.
If one proven miracle is attributed to your intercession, you are beatified, two gets you sainthood.
Which is why Mother Teresa is set to be the latest saint on the block for the Catholic Church. The pope has approved a ‘miracle’, involving curing a man with brain tumours in Brazil, to the intercession of Teresa. That gives her the two miracles required to become a saint.
The first involved an Indian woman, who was cured of an abdominal tumour in 2003- that one Pope John Paul II authenticated, leading to her beatification.
“The Holy Father has authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to proclaim the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of blessed Mother Teresa,” the Vatican said in a statement on Friday.
Teresa’s canonisation would take place in Rome in September 2016.