Filipino catechist, Native American woman among Church’s future saints
(December 19, 2011) A lay catechist from the Philippines and a Native American woman
are among the Catholic Church’s seven future saints that Pope Benedict XVI cleared
on Monday. The two are among a total of 23 decrees that the Pope promulgated, which
include 12 on miracles, 4 on martyrdom, and 7 on heroic virtues. The Filipino, Blessed
Pedro Calungsod is a sacristan and catechist who was martyred in 1672 in Guam. He
was declared blessed by Pope John Paul II in 2000. The Native American, Blessed Kateri
Tekakwitha, also known as Catherine Tekakwitha, was a Mohawk-Algonquian woman born
in New York, United States. An early convert to Catholicism, she died in 1680 in
Quebec, Canada. Pope John Paul II declared her Blessed in 1980. Pope Benedict on
Monday issued a total of 12 decrees on miracles, 7 of which were for sainthood, including
those of Calungson and Tekakwitha, and 5 decrees were for beatification. Three men
and 4 women comprise the group of 7 future saints, whereas the 5 future Blessed include
two men and three women. Three decrees were on the martyrdom of 62 people who died
for their faith in the Spanish civil war between 1936 –’37. Another decree on martyrdom
was for a diocesan priest who was martyred in Switzerland in 1618.