A great grandmother has spoken of her joy as her aunt was placed on the road to canonisation by the Diocese of Rome.

Sister Katherine Flanagan and Mother Riccarda Beauchamp Hambrough were declared Servants of God at a ceremony at the Vicariate of Roma on Monday, marking the first step toward canonisation.

The London-born pair both belonged to a revived order of Bridgettine sisters nicknamed “the hot cross bun nuns” because of the distinctive crosses covering the tops of their wimples.

The niece of Sister Katherine said she was still shocked to learn that she might have a saint in the family.