Késsinnimek - Roots - RacinesMon Petit Coin by Norm Léveillée
When will Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha be canonized a Saint?
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha was named one of several patrons of the World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002. Father Paolo Molinari, S.J., the Postulator in Rome, wrote this about her status there:It is for us of real support - and it is at the same time a consolation - to be aware that the Holy Father has presented Kateri Tekakwitha as a model to the hundreds of thousands of young people gathered in Toronto:"Holiness is not a question of age; it is a matter of 'living in the Holy Spirit', just as Kateri Tekakwitha here in America and so many other young people have done" 1, and then in the afternoon of the same day, while at Morrow Park, the Pope met a group of Indians (Native Americans, ed.) and said to them: "I greet you young indigenous people who come from the land of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. You rightly call her 'kaiatano' (very noble and highly dignified person): let her be for you a model of how the Christians can be salt and light of the world."Although others were named as patrons, Father Molinary points out that "no other person has been mentioned in public by the Holy Father".
All in all, we believe that the World Youth Day, obviously a great experience for the young people, did provide an added impetus to our efforts to have Kateri declared a Saint. We thank God for this boost to the campaign for her canonization, and hope it will spur many of our supporters on to more fervent prayer that we may soon be able to refer to her as "Saint" Kateri. 2
Many of us, however, who have been praying for the canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, were very disappointed that Pope Jean Paul II did not do this during this conference. We felt that she was rightly held up as a Spiritual Model for the Youth of the World. She died while still as a young person, at age twenty-four. Despite, the Pope's public expression of who and what Kateri was, he did not acclaim her a 'Saint'.
Since that time, the two Vice-Postulators in North America, Father John Paret, S.J., for the United States and Father Jacques Bruyère,S.J., for Canada, have been seeking a miracle that can be attributed to Kateri and can be accepted by the Vatican. We have had some hopes but thus far, none have materialized to the full extent of a miraculous event.
Juliana L'Heureux, one of our authors wrote:
Pope John Paul II implored Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha's name as he spoke to World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada. I'm impressed by the numbers of shrines dedicated to Blessed Kateri, located wherever indigenous people are evangelized. It seems like such a small gesture to canonize Blessed Kateri for the purpose of expanding on third world evangelization. Blessed Kateri carried the cross of salvation and evangelization with her in life and even in her official icon. Therefore, she's already a saint. Why not just confirm her saintly cause for the sake of bringing more people to Jesus?
Regardless of the reasons, we have to do something to further her cause for canonization to the Vatican. We have to deepen our prayers to Blessed Kateri that she intercedes for us before our Creator, the Great Spirit, that, through the witness of our Christian lives, this cause may be hastened and that she finally will be included among the list of saints.
U.S. Catholics are urged to observe a day of prayer for Blessed Kateri on July 14, 2005 - Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha's feast day. Msgr. Paul Lenz, executive director of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions have asked all to observe this day of prayer. I wrote to the Catholic News Service requesting permission to republish their article regarding this day of prayer. I received the following response:
Thank you for your e-mail requesting permission to republish a Catholic News Service article in your web magazine, Késsinnimek - Roots - Racines. Although you may not republish CNS material on your website, you may link to the news brief of this article. Here is it, Rita:www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20050518.htm
Prayer for the Canonizaton of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
God, who, among the many marvels of Your Grace in the New World, did cause to blossom on the banks of the Mohawk and of the St. Lawrence, the pure and tender Lily, Kateri Tekakwitha, grant we beseech You, the favor we beg through her intercession, that this Young Lover of Jesus and of His Cross may soon be counted among the Saints of Holy Mother Church, and that our hearts may be enkindled with a stronger desire to imitate her innocence and faith. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us.
I would ask you to add the following also:
Flower of the Algonquins, pray for us.
Lily of the Mohawks, pray for us.
O Great Spirit, raise your daughter to heavenly sainthood!
Fr. Ronald Veigas, pastor of St. Francis Xavier parish in Kable, Diocese of Shimoga, Karnataka, India adds his thoughts:
It is through the continuous intercession of our cousin Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha that the mission of the Risen Lord of shepherding the people of God and working among the poorest of the poor is possible.
One of our authors, "une cousine", Rita Roy Drouin sent me this email address for Pope Benedict XVI and urged me to include it in our magazine:
I am strongly urging any and all of our readers who have an interest and a devotion to our Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha to write a message to the Pope asking him to canonize our beloved Kateri, Flower of the Algonquins and Lily of the Mohawks.
You might want to address and sign out your message as following:
Your Holiness,(Place your message here)
Yours truly in Jesus, Mary and Blessed Kateri,
(your name)
Both Rita and I would be interested if you would let us know if you do send a message to Pope Benedict XVI. Please write to us.
Thank you! Merci bien! Ktsi Oléoneh!
(1) Homily during the Eucharistic Celebration at Downsview Park, 29 July 2002.
(2) Lily of the Mohawks, Vol. XLVIII No. 3, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha League, Auriesveille, New York 12016, Fall/Winter 2002.
(3)If the article is no longer available as a link to CNS, please check this link: CNS Article May 18, 2005
Index of Articles
Késsinnimek - Roots - Racines
Copyright © 2003 & 2004 & 2005 Norm Léveillée
Tous droits réservés
Created 1 Feb 2003