|
AMERICAN MORNING
Mother Teresa, 'Icon of Charity'
Aired October 20, 2003 - 08:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Mother Teresa on the track to sainthood now, after her beatification by Pope John Paul II in front of 300,000 Catholics in St. Peter's Square. The pope called her an icon of charity and declared her blessed. And this is the last major step on the path to Roman Catholic sainthood.
Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci has more for us from Rome this morning.
Alessio -- good morning.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Well, first of all, Pope John Paul II this morning at the Vatican again thanked the hundreds of missionaries who flocked here in St. Peter's Square to participate in that ceremony that took place yesterday under a beautiful sun at Vatican City. As you mentioned, a quarter of a million people arrived here in St. Peter's Square, one of the largest crowds ever here at the Vatican, certainly the largest so far this year.
Pope John Paul II presided over the solemn ceremony that at times included a colorful mix of ethnic dances and music, together with the more traditional Catholic prayers -- really, a rare mix on the grounds of St. Peter's Square.
The most significant moment perhaps was of the ceremony, of course, when the pope read aloud the beatification formula" "With our apostolic authority" he said in Latin, "we grant the venerable servant of God, Teresa of Kolcata, shall from now on be called blessed."
All of the while, a giant portrait of her was being unveiled to the cheers and some tears of pilgrims in the square. Some of the nuns, we saw them wiping out the tears from their eyes -- of course, a very emotional moment for them at St. Peter's Square yesterday.
Mother Teresa's beatification, of course, comes in the middle of celebrations here at the Vatican to commemorate -- to celebrate Pope John Paul II's 25th anniversary as a pope. And the city of Rome last night organized a stunning display of fireworks to honor the bishop of Rome, and really a wonderful show last night.
Again, it was a beautiful, warm night. Even the pope came out from the balcony of his study, and he watched the ceremony himself. Really, a truly remarkable night and a truly remarkable day here at the Vatican. Back to you -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Alessio, looks like a beautiful, beautiful ceremony. Thanks for that update. Alessio Vince, our Rome bureau chief, this morning, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
|
