Mother Teresa To Be Made Saint On Sunday By Pope Francis

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century, is set to become a Catholic saint on Sunday in an open-air Mass led by Pope Francis.

Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, the Canadian priest who promoted her sainthood cause, said on Thursday in Vatican that hundreds of thousands of faithful are expected to attend the canonisation service to be led by Pope Francis in front of St. Peter’s basilica.

He said that her canonisation is one of the highlights of Francis’ Jubilee of Mercy.

“Affectionately called the “saint of the gutters” during her lifetime, Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be made an official saint of the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday, just 19 years after her death.

“The Church defines saints as those believed to have been holy enough during their lives to now be in Heaven and able to intercede with God to perform miracles.

“She has been credited with two miracles, both involving the healing of sick people,’’ he said.

Kolodiejchuk said that Mother Teresa was one of the most influential women in the Church’s 2,000-year history, acclaimed for her work amongst the worlds poorest of the poor in the slums of the Indian city now called Kolkata.

He said critics view her differently, arguing she did little to alleviate the pain of the terminally ill and nothing to stamp out the root causes of poverty.

The priest recalled that in 1991, the British medical journal the Lancet visited a home she ran in Kolkata for the dying and said untrained carers failed to recognise when some patients could have been cured.

Kolodiejchuk said her detractors missed the point of her mission, arguing that she had created a place to comfort people in their final days rather than establish hospitals.

“We don’t have to prove that saints were perfect, because no one is perfect,” he said.

He said that several events are planned in the run up to the ceremony, including a prayer vigil on Friday, an audience in St Peter’s Square with Francis on Saturday morning.

Kolodiejchuk said it would be followed in the evening by a veneration of Teresa’s relics in a Roman basilica outside of the Vatican.

Read More: dailytrust

Buhari Extends Stay In London Till Sunday

President Muhammadu Buhari will not return to Nigeria from London, where he is spending his 10-day medical vacation, until Sunday.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo disclosed this to State House correspondents on Thursday shortly before the commencement of a meeting of the National Economic Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari’s 10-day vacation expired on Wednesday.

By the time he would be arriving in Nigeria on Sunday, he would have spent 14 days.

He was earlier scheduled to arrive the country on Thursday.

Osinbajo however said it was just appropriate for Buhari to take the weekend off and rest very well in London before returning to the country.

He said he had spoken to the President on the telephone and he was in good health condition.

The Vice-President said Buhari would resume in his office on Monday morning.

Osinbajo said, “The President will be back on Sunday. I spoke with him yesterday evening and I think it is just the best that he takes the weekend off. He will certainly be back on Sunday.

“I think the most straightforward thing is when he will be back. He will be back on Sunday. There is no point rushing back on Friday or something like that.

“He will just take the weekend off and be back on Sunday. He is in perfect health and ready to resume work on Monday morning.

“Mr. President is in good condition, he is fine, he is very well. He should take a day or two off in London and rest a bit and come back hale and hearty on Sunday and be ready for work on Monday. So we expect him back on Sunday.”

Credit: Punch

Aviation Unions To Shut Airports Midnight Sunday

Airports across the country are to be shut down on Monday as the two leading unions in the sector yesterday threatened to shut down Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA by midnight on Sunday.

The unions, National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAAPE, in a letter dated 21st October, 2015 to their members and made available to our correspondent accused NCAA of not adhering to the condition of service with respect to promotion of workers and other welfare issues.

The letter jointly signed by Secretary General, NUATE and Secretary General NAAPE, Comrades Olayinka Abioye and Aba Ocheme threatened to shut down the agency from midnight Sunday until further notice.

The unions insisted that the withdrawal of service by the workers became paramount in order to safeguard the integrity of NCAA’s condition of service.

Credit: NationalMirror

UN Sec Gen, Ki-Moon, Arrives Nigeria Sunday

The United Nations Secretary- General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon is due in Nigerian on Sunday. He is scheduled to meet President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday.

The visit appears to be in recognition of the peaceful manner in which the presidential poll of March 28 was conducted.

The visit also comes just as the United Nations is also looking forward to Buhari’s participation at the 70th anniversary of the world body, in New York, in September.

An official said more than 100 heads of state – alongside Buhari, are expected at the yearly global summit in New York, where the Nigerian delegation might be one of the major attractions.

Creditdailytimes