It is with great joy that the Bishops of Canada welcome the 18 February 2012 announcement that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, will canonize Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, elevating her to sainthood this coming October. This event will be a great honour to all of North America, but also in a particular way to its Aboriginal peoples, of who Kateri will be the first to receive this dignity. Blessed Kateri, known as "the Lily of the Mohawks", was born in 1656 in what is no New York State. Persecuted for the Catholic faith she held so tenaciously, she moved to a Christian Mohawk village in what is now Kahnawake, within the current diocese of Saint-Jean Longueuil, Quebec, where she died at the age of 24. For this reason, she is rightly claimed by the Church both in the United States and in Canada. We in Canada therefore rejoice together with our American brothers and sisters in this joyful news. Pope Benedict recently reminded us that all saints, "through their different paths of life, show us the various ways to holiness, united by a single common denominator: to follow Christ and to conform ourselves to him, who is the ultimate goal of our human existence." (Angelus, November 1, 2011). In particular, Kateri provides us "an example of fidelity...a model of purity and love." (Blessed John Paul II, "Address to the Indians of North America," 24 June 1980). As a member of the Communion of Saints, she will hold a special place within the universal Church, being one of the "great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and people and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb." (Revelation 7:9) We therefore humbly ask: "Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us!" Help us imitate your life of devotion to Ourd Lord, summed up in your dying words: "Jesos konoronkwa!" - "Jesus, I love you!" + Richard Smith Archbishop of Edmonton President Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops- Credit: CNS photo/Bob Roller
Carlo Acutis was ahead of his time, and a part of our time. He inspires us to present the faith in creative ways, as well as to seek holiness in the joys and struggles of every day life.
Raising your child in the Christian faith is a beautiful challenge, but also a real trial in a world where digital distractions are all over. Carlo Acutis offers us and our children an inspiring example.
In his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis continued this cycle of catechesis on "Jesus Christ our Hope," as part of the Jubilee 2025. This week he reflected on the Magnificat, the Virgin Mary's Song of Praise after she is greeted by her cousin Elizabeth.
Reflecting on the vision given to St. Joseph in the Gospel of Matthew, Pope Francis said that "He dreams of the miracle that God fulfils in Mary’s life, and also the miracle that he works in his own life: to take on a fatherhood capable of guarding, protecting, and passing on a material and spiritual inheritance."
Pope Francis continued this cycle of catechesis on "Jesus Christ our Hope." Reflecting on the Angel Gabriel's greeting to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, he said that "The 'Almighty,' the God of the 'impossible' is with Mary, together with and beside her; He is her companion, her principal ally, the eternal 'I-with-you.'"