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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The namesake of Dettah's church, Kateri Tekawitha, will be canonized - or made a saint, the Vatican has announced. The date of when Tekawitha will officially be elevated to sainthood hasn't been announced, but when it is, residents plan on marking the occasion with a special feast.

The Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Church in Dettah will soon be known as the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Church when its namesake is canonized by Pope Benedict XVI. - Katherine Hudson/NNSL photo

"It's an honour to have that happen to the name Tekawitha," said Mary Rose Sundberg, who has attended the Roman Catholic church since she was a child. "We're going to have a big feast to celebrate."

The church, known as Blessed Kateri Tekawitha Church, will soon be renamed Saint Kateri Tekawitha Church, in light of the development.

"I think everybody is really happy that this is going to happen. It makes our church extra special, I think," said Sundberg.

Tekawitha will be the first aboriginal person from North America to attain sainthood when she is canonized.

"I think having this happen to the church is really important for First Nations," said Sundberg.

"It's an honour, no question whatsoever. The church doesn't give this title to anybody very lightly at all," said Jim Lynn, the pastoral leader of the church.

In order to be considered for sainthood, the person must be recognized for two miracles performed after death.

"What elevated her to that status was something that just happened in the last few years in the States. After a fall in a basketball game in February of 2006, this young lad Jake (Finkbonner) was infected with necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh-eating disease, and the doctors expected him to die, but the parish priest told the family to praise the blessed Kateri," said Lynn.

Finkbonner was only five years old when he contracted the disease. After Finkbonner recovered, Pope Benedict XVI officially declared it a miracle on Dec. 20, 2011.

"So that was the miracle that I guess got her the acknowledgment," said Lynn. "She was just a young girl and to be honoured and recognized in our society today is definitely a distinction."

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, also known as Lily of the Mohawks, was born in Ossernenon, near present-day Auriesville, New York, in 1656. She eventually moved to Kahnawake, Quebec, fleeing persecution, where she lived a life of prayer and dedication to the sick and the elderly. She succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 24.

"I just want to invite everybody to come out to the feast," said Sundberg.

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