WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. Postal Service plans to honor Mother Teresa with a stamp this year in recognition of her humanitarian work.
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning nun who died in 1997 will join the late actress Katharine Hepburn, athletes of Negro Leagues Baseball and stars of cowboy movies as celebrities featured on stamps in 2010.
Roy Betts, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, said the Mother Teresa stamp is tentatively scheduled to go on sale on Aug. 26.
“We have honored other American legends, not because of their religious beliefs, but because of their contributions to civil rights and youth development, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Father
(Edward) Flanagan,” he said.
Mother Teresa was known for her work caring for the sick and needy in India and beyond for almost five decades. She was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal and an honorary U.S. citizenship.
Her stamp will feature a portrait painted by Thomas Blackshear II, an award-winning artist from Colorado Springs, Colo.

By Adelle M. Banks