St. Catherine (Kateri) Tekakwitha was beatified by St. John Paul II in 1980 and canonized by Benedict XVI in 2012.

Newsroom (25/07/2022 08:06 PM, Gaudium Press) This past  Monday, July 25th, as part of the schedule of his trip to Canada, Pope Francis will bless an image of Saint Catherine (Kateri) Tekakwitha.

The act will take place at the Sacred Heart of the First Peoples church, during a meeting of the Pontiff with indigenous people and members of the parish community of the Sacred Heart of the First Peoples church.

Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples

Built in the Canadian city of Edmonton in 1913, the temple is one of the oldest Catholic buildings in the region, and is recognized for its special pastoral care of the poor and marginalized.

The Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples has been designated, since 1991, as the national parish for the three largest Indigenous populations in Canada, and is regarded by the Holy See as the first of its kind in Canada.

Santa Catarina (Kateri) Tekakwitha

Born in Auriesville, New York (USA), Catarina (Kateri) Tekakwitha belonged to the Algonquian tribe and came to know the Christian Faith at the age of 11 through Jesuit missionaries. She was baptized at the age of 20. Because of family opposition and rejection by her community, she had to take refuge in Canada.

The indigenous saint received her first communion at Christmas, took a vow of chastity, and maintained an intense Eucharistic devotion. She died on April 17, 1680, at the age of 24. In 1980 she was beatified by St. John Paul II and canonized in 2012 by Benedict XVI. (EPC)

Vompiled by Camille Mittermeier