KOLKATA: Retired Archbishop Henry Sebastian D'Souza of Calcutta who initiated the process for the canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa has passed away aged 90.

Archbishop D'Souza headed Calcutta Archdiocese from 1986-2002, where he was a close associate of Blessed Teresa who had her headquarters for the Missionaries of Charity congregation that she founded in Calcutta, now named Kolkata, eastern India.

Blessed Teresa died of cardiac arrest in Kolkata on Sept. 5, 1997. Her canonization process, initiated by Archbishop D'Souza, began two years afterward.

In 2005, retired Archbishop D'Souza said Blessed Teresa "fell in love with God and in that love she spent her whole life."

According to the archbishop, Blessed Teresa's initial letters from India to her relatives back home spoke of her difficulties in adjusting to the heat and conditions in this country.

Archbishop D'Souza was born Jan. 20, 1926 and in 1985 became Coadjutor Archbishop of Calcutta before heading the archdiocese the next year. Before that he was Bishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, India, ordained bishop in 1974 at the age of 48.

Blessed Teresa will be canonized a saint by Pope Francis in September.--ucanews.com