Native American is Proclaimed Catholic Saint by Vatican

USA TODAY
By Cathy Lynn Grossman

Image courtesy of blog, Communio

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Monday (12/19) announced a 17th-century Mohawk-Algonquin woman will be canonized as a Catholic saint, the first Native American from North America so proclaimed. It takes proof of two miracles to certify that a Catholic is clearly in heaven asking God to help people who pray in their name. Now, a second critical miracle has been credited to prayers in the name of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, who died in 1680 at age 24. The Vatican scrupulously investigates miracle claims for proof that recovery was not a result of medical or surgical attention. Known as the Lily of the Mohawks, Tekakwitha was born in what is now Upstate New York, the daughter of a Mohawk chief and Algonquin Christian mother. She was just 4 or 5 when she was scarred in the smallpox epidemic that killed her parents and most of her family. Believers say her scars vanished at her death. The dates for the celebration of their canonization will likely be announced by February, Bunson said. [link]