Pope beatifies Mother Teresa

Hundreds of thousands of people crowded into St. Peter's Square in Rome Sunday as Pope John Paul beatified Mother Teresa, the last major step before sainthood.

• BACKGROUND: Mother Teresa

In a weak and shaky voice, the Pope conducted most of the ceremony himself. Aides stepped in to read several prayers and blessings when he became too weak to continue.

Proclaiming her blessed, John Paul unveiled a portrait of the Albanian nun known as "Saint of the Gutters" for her years of work in the slums of Calcutta. She won the Nobel Prize in 1979.

"Even in our days God inspires new models of sainthood," the pontiff told the crowd of about 300,000.

Members of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity order were present in their white saris with blue borders. Others held up posters of the nun and waved flags from countries around the world.

Mother Teresa died in 1997 at age 87.

Two years after she died, the Pope waived the normal five-year waiting period for the beatification process to begin.

Mother Teresa qualified for beatification after Vatican officials said she was responsible for a miracle in which a young woman in India was cured of a cancerous tumour.

The woman prayed to the nun and held a picture of her over her abdomen. Critics say the healing should be attributed to medical treatment she received.

Since he became Pope 25 years ago, John Paul has created more saints than all the other popes put together.