Major Canadian delegation will be in Rome for the Canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Wednesday, October 17 2012

(CCCB – Ottawa)… The Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha will be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI during a solemn Mass in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome, October 21, 2012.  Blessed Kateri will be the first Indigenous woman from North America to be canonized. Approximately 1500 Canadian pilgrims are expected to participate in the celebrations in Rome, the majority from the First Nations and other Indigenous communities, as well as 17 Canadian Bishops. These include His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), and Bishop Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., of Saint-Jean-Longueuil. As the Bishop of the territory which is now the Canadian diocese where Blessed Kateri lived and died, Bishop Gendron has a key role in organizing the celebrations marking her canonization.

A Prayer Vigil will be held in Rome on 20 October, at 8:00 pm, at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, which is the cathedral church of Rome. The Vigil will feature a video prepared by Salt and Light TV on the life of Blessed Kateri. The Canonization Mass will take place in Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday, 21 October, at 9:30 am. Six other Blesseds, three women and three men, will be also canonized during the celebration. On Monday, 22 October, at 10:00 am, the Canadian pilgrims will be invited to a Mass of Thanksgiving in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.  Salt + Light Television will broadcast live both the Canonization Mass and the Mass of Thanksgiving. 

Several local celebrations will also take place in Canada simultaneously and following the Canonization. The Shrine of Kateri Tekakwitha in Kahnawake, Quebec, in the Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, is organizing a Prayer Vigil on Saturday, 20 October, 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. On Sunday, 21 October at 9:00 am, there will be a re-broadcast of the Canonization Mass in Rome; with Mass at 10:30 am, followed by Adoration  and, at 5:00 pm, Benediction. The ceremonies at the Shrine of Kateri Tekakwitha will be principally in English, with parts in French as well as in Mohawk. In addition, the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ontario, on 21 October at 11:00 am, will have a procession with the relics and statue of Blessed Kateri, followed at noon with Mass and blessing with the relics.  For more information about all the celebrations across Canada, visit the special Canonization webpage on the CCCB website. 

The national celebration to commemorate the Canonization of Kateri Tekakwitha will take place on November 4, 2012, at 2:30 pm, at Saint Joseph Oratory in Montreal. For this celebration, individuals and groups need to get tickets prior to the event.