Swaraj to lead Indian delegation at Mother Teresa’s

canonisation New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj will lead a 12-member delegation to represent India atcanonisation ceremony of Mother Teresa in Vatican on September4. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup saidtwo delegations led by chief ministers had sought politicalclearance from the Ministry of External Affairs to attend theevent and it has been granted. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee will also be travelling to Rome toattend the canonisation ceremony of Mother Teresa where shewill be declared a saint. In March, Pope Francis had announced that Mother Teresa,who founded the Missionaries of Charity, will be elevated tosainthood after the Church recognised two miracles attributedto her after her death in 1997. Mother Teresa, who will now be declared a saint of theRoman Catholic Church, was beatified by then Pope John Paul IIin a fast-tracked process in 2003. The Nobel Laureate had spent 45 years serving the poor andsick on the streets of Kolkata. Swaraj’s delegation will comprise Minister for FoodProcessing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Lok Sabha MPs ProfK V Thomas, Jose K Mani, Anto Anthony, Conrad K Sangma andDeputy Chief Minister of Goa Francis D’Souza. Judge of Supreme Court Justice Kurian Joseph, eminentlawyer Harish Salve, Secretary General of Catholic Bishops’Conference of India Theodore Mascarenhas, K J Alphons, who wastipped to be appointed the administrator of Chandigarh. Hisappointment could not materialise. Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External AffairsSujata Mehta will also be part of the delegation. Swarup did not rule out a bilateral meeting between Swarajand her Italian counterpart during her visit. PTI PYK MPBSC