Mother Teresa is set to be canonized, or officially named a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, on Sunday. On Thursday, the official portrait that will be used at her canonization was unveiled at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. The portrait will be transported to the Vatican for the ceremony, where it will be placed at the facade of St. Peter's Basilica.
The Shrine hosted the unveiling of official #MotherTeresa canonization portrait by Chas Fagan this morning. Photos: pic.twitter.com/LcoMLxfxKJ
— John Paul II Shrine (@JP2Shrine) September 1, 2016
The portrait was painted by American painter Chris Fagan, and was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus as a gift for the Missionaries of Charity.
Mother Teresa was the founder of the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. The Missionaries of Charity work to serve the "poorest of the poor." Originally started in India, the Missionaries of Charity have expanded to over 4,500 religious sisters around the world.
In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She passed away in 1997 at the age of 87. She was beatified in 2003 and bestowed the title "blessed." After Sunday, Mother Teresa will be known as Saint Mother Teresa.