Pilgrims take the communion in St Peter's Square during the beatification ceremony.
The Vatican estimated Sunday's crowd at 300,000. They included 2,000 homeless men and women who eat and sleep in soup kitchens and shelters run by Mother Teresa's followers. Many wept when the pope declared Mother Teresa blessed.
The ceremony was a mix of colourful Indian dance and sitar music with traditional Catholic hymns, reflecting the culture in which Mother Teresa lived and worked.
Officials from India, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo, Belgium's Queen Fabiola, royalty from Liechtenstein, and other dignitaries attended the ceremony.