LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – MotherTeresa devoted her life to helping others and growing her faith, and now 19 years after her passing followers in Acadiana are celebrating her canonization.

The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist was filled Monday morning as the Diocese of Lafayette’s BishopDeshotel dedicated mass to Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

MotherTeresa died on September 5th, 1997, and 19 years later Pope Francis named her a saint of the church.

Director of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Father Chester Arceneaux said Acadiana has special ties to Mother Teresa.

“Over twenty something years ago when mother came to this great land of Acadiana she brought her presence to remind us of the poor and the vonarable. She graced us as a diocies by allowing her sisters to be present and work among the poor.”

Hazel Kratzer attended the mass honoring Mother Teresa. She said she feels honored to have lived during Mother Teresa’s time.

“To know that she was in our time, and many people here were able to meet her,  and walk with her, and were able to do things, I just feel over joyed that we are able to experience this here.”

Father Arceneaux said he is proud to be a part of Mother Teresa’s canonization through mass here in Acadiana.

“We celebrate her as a saint because that’s what saints are for the life of the church, with their presence their lives their sacrafices and that’s why we rejoyce today as a church and a dioceses.”