Preparing for Mother Teresa’s canonization – In the heart of the Jubilee

More than 100,000
faithful are expected to gather in St Peter’s Square on Sunday morning, 4
September, for the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, which will be
presided over by Pope Francis. The celebration, which is one of the key moments
of the Holy Year of Mercy, will also have the attention of the media, as it
will be followed by 600 journalists from around the world and 125 television
correspondents.

Details and information
about the ceremony were presented in a briefing on Friday, 2 August, in the
Holy See Press Office. Director Greg Burke ensured the highest level of Vatican
media coverage for the event. Live coverage of the event will be offered by
Vatican Radio, which will broadcast in six languages, as well as in Albanian.
Live coverage will also be provided on Monday morning, 5 September, Mother
Teresa’s first feast day, when Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State,
celebrates a Mass of thanksgiving in St Peter’s Square. In collaboration with
mc360Photo, the Secretariat for Communications will implement the project “I
was there”, a high resolution panoramic shot of the Square, which will allow
you to zoom in on the face of each individual present.

Regarding the television
coverage of the event, Stefano D’Agostini, Director of the Vatican Television
Center, explained that footage will be captured in 4K Ultra HD, which is also
the modern standard for material storage. Nine cameras will be used in the
Square, with special shots taken from above, to show the size of the crowd
gathered in the scope of Bernini’s Colonnade. Images will be broadcast for the
world to see, and high definition streaming will also be available in America
and Asia.

The briefing also included the
participation of Sr Mary Prema Pierick, Superior General of the Missionaries of
Charity, Marcilio Haddad Andrino, who was healed from a severe form of
hydrocephalus through Mother Teresa’s intercession, a miracle which was
decisive for the canonization, and Fr Brian Kolodiejchuk, Superior General of
the Missionaries of Charity Fathers and postulator of the Cause.