Pope names first Native American saint, Kateri Tekakwitha

Pope Benedict XVI named seven new saints on Sunday, including the first Native American, praising their “heroic courage” in a year when the Catholic Church is seeking to counter the rising tide of secularism in the West.

Kateri Tekakwitha, informally known as “Lily of the Mohawks” who has been a symbol of hope for American Indians for centuries, was canonised in a lavish ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square that followed her beatification in 1980 by the late pope John Paul II.

Under a bright autumn sun, the pope delivered a homily praising all seven new saints, saying they “lived their lives in total consecration to God and in generous service to their brothers”.

Thousands of people, including American Indians, gathered on the square outside Saint Peter’s Basilica which was decked with portraits of those being canonised.

The other new saints include a French missionary to Madagascar, a Philippine missionary martyred at the age of 17, a German migrant to the United States who took care of lepers and a Spanish nun who campaigned for women’s rights.

Vatican watchers said the choice of the saints now was linked to the Roman Catholic Church’s efforts to highlight the need for a “new evangelisation” as church pews empty in Europe and the United States.