A leading councillor has paid homage to Mother Teresa following her sainthood last weekend, recalling her year of servitude with the nun.

The chairman of Chiltern District Council, cllr Mimi Harker, spoke to the Bucks Free Press about the missionary who worked with the poorest of poor in the Indian city of Kolkata, saying the way she changed people’s views on poverty was “amazing”.

Cllr Harker, who is from India, said she volunteered with Mother Teresa for a year on and off when she was 18 in secret because she knew her family would not approve, only telling them once the sainthood had been announced.

She said family were “shocked and stunned” when she made the revelation last week.

She said: “No-one in my family knew. As far as they were concerned, you just didn’t do that sort of thing.

“I wasn’t a nun or anything like that, you know, so why would I do it?”

Her husband found out when they were travelling around India around 20 years ago and Mother Teresa recognised cllr Harker at Mumbai airport, waving her over.

She said: “She called me over and started talking to me, asking how I was. She always called me child and we always called her Mother.

“My husband was shell-shocked. He said hello to her and then stepped away.

“She absolutely deserves the accolade that she has been awarded.

“The way she changed people’s views on how to deal with poverty – it was amazing.

“I remember one time a child was brought in to her home and was covered with everything nasty you could possibly think of.

“The first thing she did was give that child a cuddle.

“She had a deep sense of caring, and when you were around her you had a deep sense of peace.”

Cllr Harker cited Mother Teresa as the inspiration behind her decision to become a councillor, saying she had a “great effect” on her.

She added: “To those saying she doesn’t deserve this, I would say when you are trying to make something happen, make a vision into reality, you can’t please all the people all the time.

“If you can’t be strong and push through, you can’t do it.

“She was unwavering in her faith and belief of what she wanted to do.

“All she ever showed was strength, courage and faith, especially to those who needed it. It was incredible.”

Mother Teresa was officially made a saint on September 4 by Pope Francis for her work with sick and poor communities in India and around the world.

She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and died in 1997 aged 87.

She is now known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in the Catholic Church after two alleged miracles were attributed to her after her death, paving the way for her classification, according to national reports.