Mother Teresa exhibit marks beatification

AN exhibit on the life of Mother Teresa opens a week before her beatification, featuring a pair of her worn sandals and the Nobel Peace Prize medal she won for her work caring for the poor and sick of Calcutta.

'Mother Teresa: Life, Spirit and Message', on show in the crypt of Rome's Antonianum church, is one of several events taking place on the sidelines of the celebrations surrounding her October 19 beatification a major step toward possible sainthood.

Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity organised the exhibit, which features photographs and documents charting her life, including her youth in Skopje, Macedonia, her early years as a nun with the Loreto order in Ireland, her work in the slums of Calcutta and her state funeral in India in 1997.

The most compelling and recognisable items are her tiny, worn leather sandals and the trademark white and blue-trimmed linen sari she wore. The one on display shows intricate stitching she did to mend holes in the fabric.

Reverend Brian Kolodiejchuk, who was the chief advocate for Mother Teresa's beatification cause, hoped visitors to the exhibit would learn "a little bit of what made her tick, the motivation behind her work".

"In that way, we can get to know her a little better, appreciate her more and try in some small way to follow her example," he said during a preview tour of the exhibit, which runs until October 26.

Much of the exhibit reproduces Mother Teresa's poems or prayers, and includes story boards documenting the major events of her life in chronological order, including the 1946 inspiration to found the Missionaries of Charity.

There are the simple plate and cutlery she used during visits to Rome, her handwritten draft of the constitution for the order, and the crucifix she was given when she made her first vows in 1931 and carried all her life.

Visitors can sit and pray in a makeshift chapel that features a life-sized statue of Mother Teresa sitting in the ground in a corner, hunched over in prayer.

And then there's the gold Nobel medallion and certificate Mother Teresa won in 1979, alongside a host of other awards, including a key to the city of New York and a certificate granting her honorary citizenship of Rome.

Mother Teresa will be beatified during a ceremony in St Peter's Square, midway through the week-long celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's pontificate.

Around 250,000 people are expected to attend.