Admirers and fans of the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha assembled at Hendricks Chapel on the campus of Syracuse University Sunday afternoon to attend a fund raising concert by Grammy award winner Joanne Shenandoah.
It's a part of their efforts to be able to afford the trip to the Vatican in Rome, Italy and see Kateri Tekakwitha canonized as a saint. Kateri has many local ties to Central New York, as she grew up in Auriesville, NY as a part of the Mohawk Native American tribe.
Kateri's reputation as a person grew as she grew older, and people often pray to her for health reasons. She lived in a time where small pox ran rampant through her tribe, and actually passed away because of the disease at the age of 24. But it was her spirit, both before and after her death, and help to those stricken with the disease that made her a leader, and now will become a saint because of what the church says are the various miracles that have occured because of her influence.
Many in attendance at Hendricks Chapel were Native Americans this afternoon, all beaming with pride when speaking about Kateri's influence in their own lives, even though she died centuries ago. Joanne Shenandoah performed original songs, some written with Kateri in mind, and has her own way of looking at Kateri's sainthood.
"No matter what culture race or religion, we all have saints," Shenandoah says. "We all have someone who we can look up to, who is good, and pure, and beautiful, so that's what we're celebrating today."
The celebration was a long time coming, as some members at St. Lucy's Parish on the west side of the city of Syracuse have been working to get Kateri's sainthood for more than three decades. Emily Stewart is the director of the Kateri Tekakwitha committee at St. Lucy's and could hardly contain her excitement for Kateri getting her sainthood.
"We've had our group here for probably 35 years," she says. "We've been pushing for sainthood very hard for a long time, and we've finally gotten our goal, so now we don't know what we're going to do next!"
At this point, efforts like the concert on Sunday afternoon will be ongoing to get as many people as possible to Rome for the canonization on October 21st, 2012. For those who do not make the trip overseas, plans are in place to get a webstream of the ceremony here in Central New York.
Check back with CNY Central for more updates as the canonization date approaches.
