VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict has added seven more saints to the roster of Catholic role models, including two Americans.
Kateri Tekakwitha (teh-kuh-KWIH'-thuh) is the first Native American saint from the U.S. The other is Mother Marianne Cope, a 19th century Franciscan nun who cared for lepers in Hawaii.
Both came from what is now upstate New York, although they lived two centuries apart.
About 80,000 pilgrims filled St. Peter's Square for the celebrations, which began at dawn with Native Americans in beaded and feathered headdresses and leather-fringed tunics singing songs to the beat of drums.
Later, the crowd cheered as the pope read the names of the new saints in Latin and declared that they were worthy of veneration.
Benedict praised each of the seven as heroic and courageous examples for the entire church.
%@AP Links
142-r-08-(Sound of Native American people drumming and singing in St Peter's Square, ahead of canonization ceremony)--Sound of Native American people drumming and singing in St Peter's Square ahead of the canonization ceremony. (21 Oct 2012)
<<CUT *142 (10/21/12)>> 00:08
141-a-10-(Anya Toya, from the Jicarilla Apache Nation in New Mexico, in AP interview)-"so it's different"-Anya Toya of the Jicarilla Apache Nation In New Mexico says it's a real honor that Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint, is being recognized. (21 Oct 2012)
<<CUT *141 (10/21/12)>> 00:10 "so it's different"
140-a-07-(Carol Bendercraft, Chippewa from Bad River Indian Reservation in Northern Wisconsin, in AP interview)-"and it's wonderful"-Carol Bendercraft, a Chippewa from the Bad River Indian Reservation in northern Wisconsin, says she is thrilled to be at the canonization ceremony for Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint. (21 Oct 2012)
<<CUT *140 (10/21/12)>> 00:07 "and it's wonderful"
127-r-26-(Sound of the pope reading the seven names of those to become saints during canonization ceremony, in St. Peter's Square)--Sound of the pope reading the seven names of those to become saints during canonization ceremony, in St Peter's Square. (21 Oct 2012)
<<CUT *127 (10/21/12)>> 00:26
080-r-26-(Sound of the pope saying blessing and bells ringing, during canonization ceremony)--Sound of the pope saying blessing and bells ringing during canonization ceremony. (21 Oct 2012)
<<CUT *080 (10/21/12)>> 00:26
APPHOTO GMH104: Members of the faithful attend a mass celebrating the life of Kateri Tekakwitha on the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI canonized seven people, Kateri Tekakwitha, Maria del Carmen, Pedro Calungsod, Jacques Berthieu, Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Mother Marianne Cope, and Anna Shaeffer. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes) (21 Oct 2012)
<<APPHOTO GMH104 (10/21/12)>>
