Will Mother Teresa be made a saint in 2016?

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Vatican City • A Vatican official says it's too soon to say if Mother Teresa will be made a saint during the 2016 Holy Year of Mercy.

There has been speculation the nun who worked with the destitute and dying in India would be made saint by Pope Francis in a ceremony during the Holy Year, which runs from Dec. 8 until Nov. 20, 2016. The Italian bishops conference daily Avvenire on Wednesday, citing Italian news agency AGI, called Sept. 4 a "probable" date.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi stressed that Francis still needs to approve a miracle attributed to Mother Teresa's intercession before she can become a saint. Lombardi said canonization ''would be lovely" and called the possibility she would be made a saint next year a "reasonable hypothesis, desire" by admirers.