A Rockville Centre woman is excited to attend the canonization of Mother Teresa in Rome this week.

Laura Gillen backpacked across the globe in 1996 to donate her time at the nun's convent in India.

"I had read about the opportunity to volunteer, and I decided that was what I wanted to do," Gillen says.

Now Gillen is an attorney and mother of four, and Mother Teresa is set to become a Roman Catholic saint.

Gillen says that when she realized Pope Francis was moving ahead with making Mother Teresa a saint, she contacted the order founded by the nun -- the Missionaries of Charity. To her surprise, the order sent her three tickets to the celebration.

"I am so grateful I get to be part of it, and it is really coming full circle for me," Gillen says.