On 12 June 1991, a UN- charted aeroplane landed at Habbanyia air base (55 miles west of Baghdad), it was the first traveller by air to Iraq after the first Gulf war. On board, was Mother Teresa who had permission to fly to Iraq due to her old age and the nature of her humanitarian mission. Many Iraqis rushed to the usual hotels to find out where she was staying but they were met with the same reply: despite reserving their best suite for her, Mother Teresa wished to stay at the convent in al- Za’afarania district of Baghdad.

Francis praises Missionaries of Charity founder for putting mercy into action and after canonisation ceremony gives lunch to 1,500 poor in Vatican.

Pope Francis has held up Mother Teresa as a model for the Church’s service to the marginalised while praising her political interventions for revealing the guilt world leaders bear for the “crime of poverty.”

Staffan de Mistura on “how Mother Teresa got the White House involved in order to get aid to the Sudanese city of Juba”.

Pope Francis is canonizing the “politically incorrect” Albanian nun who devoted her life to looking after the poorest, giving them back their dignity

Sister Mary “Prema” Pierick, Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, talks about the service the nuns are currently engaged in: living the Gospel of Charity in the hope of reaching China too.

Khalil Thahir Sindhu, a friend of Shahbaz Bhatti’s says he is optimistic and prays the rosary every day for the woman. He also supports changes to ensure the blasphemy law is no longer abused.

August 30 marks the commemoration of the anti-Christian massacres: bishops are expected to make a statement and a delegation representing the Indian government will be coming to Rome for the canonization rite on 4 September.

All the conditions are there and the President of the Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, expressed the hope that the 101 Christians killed “in odium fidei” in the wave of Hindu extremist violence that engulfed the Indian state of Orissa in 2008 will be recognised as martyrs.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its appreciation at Parolin’s latest statements: in his “Pordenone speech” he talked, amidst other things, about two centuries of Western obstructionism which hindered the forging of relations between China and the Holy See.

“Fr. Hamel was killed in order to damage France and the coexistence of faiths”. This is according to Italian Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, which wrote that the priest’s murder is the latest in a series of Christian martyrs, but it is important to remember that ISIS has also killed thousands of Muslims. Its aim was to strike at the very heart of France and the very concept of coexistence. This is why the Pope has not wanted to give terrorists any theological-political legitimacy and is pursuing dialogue with the major religions.

Francis called off today’s catechesis, expressing his solidarity and “the embrace of the whole Church” to all those affected by the earthquake which struck central Italy this morning. The Bishop of Rome expressed his closeness to the municipality of Amatrice and other towns in the local area destroyed by the quake.