2011-12-19 16:46:07

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.








All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.