BY DRUM STAFF

When Pope John Paul ll visits Toronto this summer for World Youth Day 2002, many Roman Catholic first nations believers will be hoping he'll the occasion to announce the first sainthood ever bestowed upon an Aboriginal person.

The priest of the Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Winnipeg-named after the daughter of an Algonquin mother and Mohawk father born n the 1600s-says her commitment to Christianity has been unquestioned and provides Aboriginal people with a religious role model "Kateri Tekakwitha is an inspiration and her canonization would inspire and affirm first nations people," said Father Dominique Kerbrat.

Born in New York State in 1656, Tekakwitha contracted small pox during an epidemic that claimed the lives of her parents and baby brother.

Stricken with the disease Tekakwitha lived the rest of her life with scars on her face as a result.

When she converted to Christianity at 20, she left behind her customs and increasingly faced a difficult life when people stoned and mocked her for her beliefs, according to the legend. Fleeing through harsh terrain Tekakwitha fled to Khanawake, Quebec to avoid persecution and is said to have lived the remainder of her life in the service of the sick and elderly, and in prayer.

Four years later, in 1680, she died at only 24. Legend has it that the disfiguring scars on her face disappeared moments after her death.

Since her death many Roman Catholic adherents have credited her with miraculous healings. The reports led to Tekakwitha being declared venerable in 1943 and later beatified by the church in 1980.

According to Roman Catholic protocol the Vatican needs proof of only one more miracle before the Pope can declare her a saint.

A New York man says he was cured of cancer in 1996 after visiting Tekakwitha's shrine. According to a church official the man's doctors have sent letters to the Vatican indicating his cure was inexplicable from a medical standpoint.

Roman Catholics who have developed a keen connection to Tekakwitha are hoping the Vatican will recognize this miracle clearing the way for her canonization.