Posted July 15, 2013

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput was the main celebrant and homilist at a Mass of Thanksgiving for the canonization of St. Kateri Tekakwitha on Sunday, July 14. Native American Catholics from across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia attended Mass dressed in their native garb.

St. Kateri is the first Native American to be declared a saint. She was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 21, 2012. The patron saint of the environment and ecology was just 24 years old when she died. Her feast day is July 14.