Oklahoma City marks 15 years since bombing

Bill Clinton's speech following the Oklahoma City Bombing, 1995:

Remarks during "A Time of Healing" Prayer Service at the Oklahoma State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Thank you very much. Governor Keating and Mrs. Keating, Reverend Graham, to the families of those who have been lost and wounded, to the people of Oklahoma City, who have endured so much, and the people of this wonderful state, to all of you who are here as our fellow Americans.
I am honored to be here today to represent the American people. But I have to tell you that Hillary and I also come as parents, as husband and wife, as people who were your neighbors for some of the best years of our lives.
Today our nation joins with you in grief. We mourn with you. We share your hope against hope that some may still survive. We thank all those who have worked so heroically to save lives and to solve this crime -- those here in Oklahoma and those who are all across this great land, and many who left their own lives to come here to work hand in hand with you.
We pledge to do all we can to help you heal the injured, to rebuild this city, and to bring to justice those who did this evil.
This terrible sin took the lives of our American family, innocent children in that building, only because their parents were trying to be good parents as well as good workers; citizens in the building going about their daily business; and many there who served the rest of us -- who worked to help the elderly and the disabled, who worked to support our farmers and our veterans, who worked to enforce our laws and to protect us. Let us say clearly, they served us well, and we are grateful.
But for so many of you they were also neighbors and friends. You saw them at church or the PTA meetings, at the civic clubs, at the ball park. You know them in ways that all the rest of America could not.
And to all the members of the families here present who have suffered loss, though we share your grief, your pain is unimaginable, and we know that. We cannot undo it. That is God's work.
Our words seem small beside the loss you have endured. But I found a few I wanted to share today. I've received a lot of letters in these last terrible days. One stood out because it came from a young widow and a mother of three whose own husband was murdered with over 200 other Americans when Pan Am 103 was shot down. Here is what that woman said I should say to you today:
The anger you feel is valid, but you must not allow yourselves to be consumed by it. The hurt you feel must not be allowed to turn into hate, but instead into the search for justice. The loss you feel must not paralyze your own lives. Instead, you must try to pay tribute to your loved ones by continuing to do all the things they left undone, thus ensuring they did not die in vain.
Wise words from one who also knows.
You have lost too much, but you have not lost everything. And you have certainly not lost America, for we will stand with you for as many tomorrows as it takes.
If ever we needed evidence of that, I could only recall the words of Governor and Mrs. Keating. If anybody thinks that Americans are mostly mean and selfish, they ought to come to Oklahoma. If anybody thinks Americans have lost the capacity for love and caring and courage, they ought to come to Oklahoma.
To all my fellow Americans beyond this hall, I say, one thing we owe those who have sacrificed is the duty to purge ourselves of the dark forces which gave rise to this evil. They are forces that threaten our common peace, our freedom, our way of life.
Let us teach our children that the God of comfort is also the God of righteousness. Those who trouble their own house will inherit the wind. Justice will prevail.
Let us let our own children know that we will stand against the forces of fear. When there is talk of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. When there is talk of violence, let us stand up and talk against it. In the face of death, let us honor life. As St. Paul admonished us, let us not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Yesterday Hillary and I had the privilege of speaking with some children of other federal employees --children like those who were lost here. And one little girl said something we will never forget. She said, we should all plant a tree in memory of the children. So this morning before we got on the plane to come here, at the White House, we planted tree in honor of the children of Oklahoma.
It was a dogwood with its wonderful spring flower and its deep, enduring roots. It embodies the lesson of the Psalms -- that the life of a good person is like a tree whose leaf does not wither.
My fellow Americans, a tree takes a long time to grow, and wounds take a long time to heal. But we must begin. Those who are lost now belong to God. Some day we will be with them. But until that happens, their legacy must be our lives.
Thank you all, and God bless you.
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Oklahoma City marks 15 years since bombing
OKLAHOMA CITY -U.S. Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano told survivors
and victims’ relatives gathered Monday
for a somber ceremony to mark the
15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City
bombing that the city’s spirit in the wake of
the tragedy served as an example to the nation.
Napolitano also warned of the need for
continued vigilance against terrorists when
she spoke during the 90-minute memorial
to the 168 lives lost in the destruction of the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April
19, 1995. More than 600 others were injured
in the blast, which at the time was the
deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Across Oklahoma City, people observed
168 seconds of silence to honor the dead.
Some dabbed away tears as the ceremony
closed with family members reading a roll
call of those who died.
“What defines us as a nation, as a people
and as communities is not what we have
suffered, but how we have risen above it,
how we’ve overcome,” Napolitano said.
“We can resolve that the Oklahoma Standard
becomes the national standard,” she
said of the willingness of Oklahomans to
help those in need without compensation.
The ceremony followed a time-honored
script. Shortly before 9:02 a.m. — when the
bombing occurred — bells tolled in downtown
Oklahoma City. Some family members
visited the site of the federal building
razed in the attack and left ribbons,
wreaths and other objects on chairs that
stand on the site to honor the dead.
Vickie Lykins and her sister, Angela
Richerson, placed a rose, an American flag
and a purple ribbon on the chair honoring
their mother, Norma “Jean” Johnson, who
had been a Defense Security Service worker.
“This is our mother’s favorite color,”
Lykins said as she secured the ribbon.
“Time heals nothing,” said Debi Burkett
Moore, who placed a floral display on the
seat and back of the chair honoring her
brother, David Burkett, a U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development. She
said the ceremony “makes it a little more
bearable, but it heals nothing.”
Kathryn Burkett, David Burkett’s mother,
said she is saddened more by her son’s
death with each passing year.
“Why it is sadder, I don’t know why,”
Burkett said. “You just live with it.”
After the ceremony, family members and
survivors gathered again at the building’s
footprint. Nearby an American Elm, known
as the “Survivor Tree” because it survived
the blast, bloomed a brilliant shade of
green.
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said
the city remembered the day of the bombing
with reverence, “not because we can’t
forget but because we choose to remember.
“We have chosen strength, we have chosen
optimism, we have chosen freedom, we
have chosen to move forward together with
a level of unity that is unmatched in any
American city,” Cornett said at the ceremony,
held on a cool, overcast morning.
Gov. Brad Henry said legislation he
signed earlier this month would ensure that
students learn about the bombing and its
aftermath in history classes.
“We have a duty to assure that future
generations remember those lost and injured
here, that they understand the
lessons of this vital part of our shared history,”
he said.
Charlie Hangar — the Oklahoma Highway
Patrol trooper who stopped bomber
Timothy McVeigh on Interstate 35 the day
of the blast because his 1977 Mercury Marquis
did not have a license plate — read the
memorial’s mission statement at the start
of the service. Hangar is now the Noble
County sheriff.
Napolitano said the bombing anniversary
was a reminder of “the continued need
for vigilance against the violent ideologies
that led to this attack, so that we can recognize
their signs in our communities and
stand together to defeat them.”
“We cannot put a glass dome over our
country. We cannot guarantee there will
not be another attack. No one can,” Napolitano
said. “But we are a strong and resilient
country. And we can resolve that even a
successful attack will not defeat our way of
life.”
In a documentary, “The McVeigh Tapes:
Confessions of an American Terrorist,” to
be aired Monday on MSNBC, recordings of
interviews with the convicted bomber indicate
he had no remorse for those whose
lives he had destroyed.
“Throughout the history of mankind,
people have killed for what they believed
was the greater good and ... and it’s accepted.
Sometimes killing is accepted,”
McVeigh told journalists Lou Michel and
Dan Herbeck in comments posted on the
MSNBC Web site.
Prosecutors had said McVeigh’s plot was
an attempt to avenge the deaths of about 80
people in the government siege at the
Branch Davidian compound in Waco,
Texas, exactly two years earlier.
McVeigh was convicted on federal murder
charges and executed in 2001.
McVeigh’s Army buddy, Terry Nichols, was
convicted on federal and state bombing-related
charges and is serving multiple life
sentences at a federal prison in Colorado.

Learning the Lessons of the Oklahoma City
Bombing 15 Years Later
Andrew Cohen
Columnist
Fifteen years after the Oklahoma City
bombing that claimed 168 lives, the
memory seemed so distant even in the
state where it happened that Oklahoma
officials earlier this month passed a law
requiring the state’s board of education to
develop and teach courses about the
death and destruction that occurred at the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building at
precisely 9:02 a.m. on Wednesday, April
19, 1995.
Discussing the new measure at the
Oklahoma City National Memorial, Gov.
Brad Henry found it difficult to explain why
the state had to mandate the teaching of
a topic of such obvious local and national
significance.
“Although the events of April 19, 1995,
are indelibly etched in the minds of so
many Oklahomans, most of today’s
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school children were not even born when
that day dramatically changed our
history,” Henry said. “It is essential for
them and the generations of students that
follow to learn the significance of this
horrific event..”
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The new law — House Bill 2750 — says
as much about the bombing’s
disappearance from our national narrative
as it does about the impoverished state of
public education in the Sooner state. Not
only has the emotion and attention
surrounding bomber Timothy McVeigh’s
cowardly assault on “the government”
receded with time, as all historic events
naturally do, it’s been overshadowed by
the much larger and much more complex
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. McVeigh was
once on the cover of Time magazine as
the face of terror. Now and forever more
to hundreds of millions of Americans that
face belongs to Osama bin Laden and his
fellow travelers.
At the time, however, the Oklahoma City
bombing was the largest and deadliest
crime in American history. Former
soldiers McVeigh and Terry Nichols, and
maybe (or maybe not) others unknown,
murdered 168 men, women and children
and wounded hundreds more. The
colossal flash of homemade explosives
ended that generation’s burgeoning antigovernment
movement — a movement
reflected in such incidents as the standoff
in remote Ruby Ridge, Idaho, with a
separatist family and the FBI’s siege of
the Branch Davidian compound in Waco,
Texas. To this day, the explosion that
ripped the heart out of a “heartland” city
remains the worst domestic crime ever
committed by Americans and is otherwise
surpassed in scope only by 9/11.
About 17 times as many people were
murdered on 9/11 as were murdered on
April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma City. There
were more people (255) who died on 9/11
whose last names began with the letter
“S” than who died at the Murrah Building.
But, as I wrote about on the first
anniversary of 9/11, it isn’t just the orders
of magnitude involved between the two
dreadful days that explains why the latter
has superseded the former for most
Americans. It isn’t just that one was
broadcast live on national television while
the other one came to us in the 24/7 news
world of the Internet age. It isn’t just that
one occurred at the cores of power and
population while the other occurred in that
vast expanse of country between both
coasts.
Compared with the rippling (and in many
ways crippling) effects wrought by 9/11,
the Oklahoma City bombing was a tidy
affair from start to finish. It was the sort of
storyline with which most Americans are
familiar. There’s the evil plot, the warped
reality of the planners, the attack upon
innocents, the heroic work by rescue
workers and law enforcement officials, the
lucky break and, ultimately, justice.
Although many of the same elements
exist, there has been no such straight
narrative in the wake of the terror attacks
on the Pentagon and World Trade Center.
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It’s still clearly an “ongoing event,” as
intelligence officials like to say, both in
terms of future terror attacks and the fate
of the terrorists we have in hand.
The legal and political and financial twists
and turns stemming from the 9/11 attacks
continue nearly a decade later. Debates
even persisted on what should be built at
Ground Zero. But less than three years
after McVeigh lit the fuse and walked
away from his rented Ryder truck, both he
and Nichols had been captured, charged,
tried and convicted. McVeigh’s life story
lasted just a few years more. On June 11,
2001, exactly three months before the
Twin Towers fell to dust, McVeigh was
executed on a hot, muggy morning in
Terre Haute, Indiana. Nichols, meanwhile,
has spent the past 12 years since his
conviction mostly in silence and solitary
confinement at the “Supermax” federal
penitentiary near Florence, Colorado.
Their awful story had a startling
beginning, an instructive middle, and a
comfortable end — just like all those
made-for-television movies.
No such script yet exists for the 9/11
crime. The hijackers all died instantly —
they never received their due justice in
this realm. Nearly nine years after the
attacks, Bin Laden is still free. Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed, who already has
confessed to the crime, remains un-tried,
un-convicted and un-sentenced. So does
Ramzi Binalshibh, another key 9/11
plotter. The only person convicted of a
serious 9/11-related crime was the
buffoon Zacarias Moussaoui (who
pleaded guilty and tried to convince his
jury to have him executed). The 9/11
story sure had its gut-busting, heartbreaking
beginning but a decade later
there is no end in sight. We’re just stuck
in the middle, fighting still over tribunal
rules.
They probably don’t teach irony in
Oklahoma’s public schools. But the great
irony of the timing of Oklahoma’s new
education initiative is that while the import
of April 19, 1995, has faded for many, the
stark political and economic and racial
and cultural dynamics that fueled its
tragedy are ascendant again. Indeed, the
enduring strain of American anger toward
government, which led McVeigh to his
deadly act of violence, April 19, 1995,
persists. We saw it in last summer’s
rhetoric over health care, in the language
used to describe the president of the
United States, and in the signs painted for
and proudly produced at “Tea Party”
rallies.
We see it all over cable news and hear it
on the radio. Go back to the language
and tone of 1993 and 1994 and listen to
the echoes we hear today. It’s very real.
And it’s really scary. Which means that,
despite the new legislation, there are only
two vital questions that Oklahoma’s
teachers must help answer for their
students in the years to come: What
lessons did America truly learn from the
tragedy that befell it on April 19, 1995?
And what lessons has it forgotten or
merely chosen to ignore?

The Oklahoma City bombing was a bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. Timothy McVeigh detonated an explosive-filled truck that he had parked in front of the Federal Building. McVeigh's co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, had assisted in the bomb preparation. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the most destructive act of domestic terrorism in American history.

The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age of 6, and more than 680 people were injured. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen-block radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered building glass in a three mile square area. The bomb was estimated to have caused at least $652 million worth of property damage.

Extensive rescue efforts were undertaken by local, state, federal, and worldwide agencies in the wake of the bombing, and substantial donations were received from across the country. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) activated eleven of its Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces, consisting of 665 rescue workers who assisted in rescue and recovery operations.

Motivated by his hatred of the federal government and angered by what he perceived as its mishandling of the Waco Siege (1993) and the Ruby Ridge incident (1992), McVeigh timed his attack to coincide with the second anniversary of the deaths at Waco. Within 90 minutes of the explosion, McVeigh was stopped by Oklahoma State Trooper Charlie Hanger for driving without a license plate and was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon.

Forensic evidence quickly linked McVeigh and Nichols to the attack; Nichols was arrested, and within days both were charged. Michael and Lori Fortier were later identified as accomplices. The official investigation, known as "OKBOMB", was the largest criminal investigation case in American history; FBI agents conducted 28,000 interviews, amassing 3.5 short tons (3.2 t) of evidence, and collected nearly one billion pieces of information.

The bombers were tried and convicted in 1997. McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001, and Nichols was sentenced to life in prison. Michael and Lori Fortier testified against McVeigh and Nichols; Michael was sentenced to twelve years in prison for failing to warn the U.S. government, and Lori received immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony. As with other large-scale terrorist attacks, conspiracy theories dispute the official claims and allege the involvement of additional perpetrators.

As a result of the bombing, the U.S. government passed legislation designed to increase the protection around federal buildings to deter future terrorist attacks. From 1995 to 2005, over 60 domestic terrorism plots were foiled due to preventive measures taken in response to the bombing. On April 19, 2000, the Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated on the site of the Murrah Federal Building, commemorating the victims of the bombing. Annual remembrance services are held at the same time of day as the original explosion occurred.

President Bill Clinton in 1995:

At 9:45 a.m. CST, Governor Frank Keating declared a state of emergency and ordered all non-essential workers in the Oklahoma City area to be released from their duties for their safety. President Bill Clinton learned about the bombing around 9:30 a.m. CST while he was meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Çiller at the White House.

Prior to addressing the nation, President Clinton wanted to ground all planes in the Oklahoma City area to prevent the bombers from escaping by air, but decided against it.

At 4:00 p.m. CST, President Clinton declared a federal emergency in Oklahoma City and spoke to the nation:
The bombing in Oklahoma City was an attack on innocent children and defenseless citizens. It was an act of cowardice and it was evil. The United States will not tolerate it, and I will not allow the people of this country to be intimidated by evil cowards.
He ordered that flags for all federal buildings be flown at half-staff for 30 days in remembrance of the victims. Four days later, on April 23, 1995, Clinton spoke from Oklahoma City.

No major federal financial assistance was made available to the survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing, but the Murrah Fund set up in the wake of the bombing succeeded in attracting over $300,000 in federal grants. Over $40 million was donated to the city to aid disaster relief and to compensate the victims. Funds were initially distributed to families who needed it to get back on their feet, and the rest was held in trust for longer-term medical and psychological needs. As of 2005, $18 million of the donations remained, some of which was earmarked to provide a college education for each of the 219 children who lost one or both parents in the bombing. A committee chaired by Daniel Kurtenbach of Goodwill Industries provided financial assistance to the survivors.

Tomorrow is the 330th anniversary of the passing of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha: I have prayed for your cannonization as a saint and I know its the Pope decision to make you as one of the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ! I hope someday that you become a saint but for now I glad that you are a blessed, Lily of the Mowhawks,remembering you after 330 years, may you rest in peace!

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha: was a young Mohawk woman who lived in the 17th century. The story of her conversion to Christianity, her courage in the face of suffering and her extraordinary holiness is an inspiration to all Christians. Follow us as we share with you the life of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, who soon will become the first Native American Saint in the United States of America. Many private miracles have already centered around Blessed Kateri, known as the Lily of the Mohawks and the holy grounds at the National Shrine of Blessed Tekakwitha located in Fonda, New York. The Shrine was founded in honor of Kateri, for it was here that she was baptized on Easter Sunday April 5, 1676, and lived her teenage years.
Kateri was born in 1656 of an Algonquin mother and a Mohawk Chief in the Mohawk fortified village of Canaouaga or Ossernenon (modern day Auriesville) in upstate New York. When she was only 4 years old her parents and brother died of smallpox. Kateri survived the disease, but it left her face badly scarred and her eyesight impaired. Because of her poor vision, Kateri was named "Tekakwitha", which means "she who bumps into things". Kateri was taken in by her uncle who was bitterly opposed to Christianity. When she was 8 years old, Kateri's foster family, in accordance with Iroquois custom, paired her with a young boy who they expected she would marry. However, Kateri wanted to dedicate her life to God. Her uncle distrusted the settlers because of the way they treated the Indians and who were responsible for introducing smallpox and other deadly diseases into the Indian community.
When Kateri was ten, in 1666, a war party composed of French soldiers and hostle Indians from Canada destroyed the Mohawk strongholds on the south bank of the Mohawk, including Ossernenon. The surviving Mohawks moved to the north side of the river and built their fortified village about half a mile west of the present village of Fonda. Kateri lived in Caughnawaga, site of the present Shrine, for her next ten years.
When Kateri was 18 years of age, she began instructions in the Catholic Faith in secret. Her uncle finally relented and gave his consent for Kateri to become a Christian, provided that she did not try to leave the Indian village. For joining the Catholic Church, Kateri was ridiculed and scorned by villagers. She was subjected to unfair accusations and her life was threatened. Nearly two years after her baptism at the Kateri Shrine in Fonda she escaped to the Mission of St. Francis Xavier, a settlement of Christian Indians in Canada. The village in Canada was also named Caughnawaga (Kahnawake). Here she was known for her gentleness, kindness, and good humor. On Christmas Day 1677 Kateri made her first holy communion and on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1679 made a vow of perpetual virginity. She also offered herself to the Blessed Mother Mary to accept her as a daughter.
During her time in Canada, Kateri taught prayers to children and worked with the elderly and sick. She would often go to Mass both at dawn and sunset. She was known for her great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Cross of Christ.
During the last years of her life, Kateri endured great suffering from a serious illness. She died on April 17th, 1680, shortly before her 24th birthday, and was buried in Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada.
Kateri's final words were. . .
"Jesus — Mary — I love you"
Witnesses reported that within a few minutes of her death, the pock marks from smallpox completely vanished and her face shone with raqdiant loveliness.
Before her death, Kateri promised her friends that she would continue to love and pray for them in heaven. Both Native Americans and settlers immediately began praying for her heavenly intercession. Several people, including a priest who attended Kateri during her last illness, reported that Kateri had appeared to them and many healing miracles were attributed to her.
Fifty years after Kateri's death the first convent for Indian nuns was established in Mexico and they pray daily for Sainthood for Blessed Kateri.

Kaia'tanó:ronKateri Tekakwitha1656-1680

A Litany to My CousinMa petite cousineKateri TekakwithaGah-deh-lee Deh-gah-quee-tah
by Norm LéveilléeFIRST DISCOVERY
One afternoon in December 1999, as I was browsing through a bookstore, I spotted a holy card with an American Indian girl's image. I was immediately drawn to it, for, you see, I had also discovered several years earlier that I was a descendant of an Algonquin lady named Mite8ameg8k8e, who was to marry a Frenchman by the name of Pierre Couc, in 1657 at Trois-Rivières, New France, and they would become my 8th great-grandparents.
I quietly moved towards the holy card rack to get a closer look at this Indian Maiden. The name on the card was Kateri Tekakwitha. She was attired in traditional Native American long dress made of deerskin with a long blouse and blue blanket covering her shoulders. She was standing before a cross and was in a state of prayer.
Kateri, lover of the Cross of Jesus, pray for us.I had never seen a holy card like this before - a First Nation saint? My heart skipped a beat as I reverently took the card in my hand
Click for enlarged viewand began to read the prayer on the backside …
"Oh God, who among the many marvels of Your Grace in the New World, did cause to blossom on the banks of the Mohawk and of the St. Lawrence, the pure and tender Lily, Kateri Tekakwitha, grant, we beseech You, the favor we beg through her intercession -- that this Young Lover of Jesus and of His Cross may soon be counted among her Saints by Holy Mother Church, and that our hearts may be enkindled with a stronger desire to imitate her innocence and faith. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen."
I asked the people who were with me if they had heard of this holy person. My sister said that she remembered the "dear nuns" relating her story during a religion class in the parochial school. I did not remember ever having heard of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.
Kateri, lily of purity, pray for us.
That day of discovery and one other event at Caughnawaga (Fonda, NY), to be related later, were to be the beginning of a spiritual renewal and adventure which I believe will last all my life. I scoured the bookstore's library until I found a short biography of Kateri. That book was the first of many in my research into the life of this Mohawk-Algonquin maiden. As I learned about this Indian Maiden, I decided to visit the three places that were part of her life and story. Along with my wife, my sister and her husband, I planned a pilgrimage, in July of 2000, to these three sites - two in the state of New York, Auriesville and Fonda - and one in Québec, at St. Francis-Xavier Mission in Kahnawaké on the Mohawk Reservation. I will relate to the reader the events of her life and my reactions at these three places where Tekakwitha lived, prayed and is buried.
OSSERNENON
I learned about her birth in 1656 in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon, on the banks of the Mohawk River (present day Auriesville), where ten years earlier the French Jesuit, Father Isaac Jogues established the Holy Trinity Mission; then Father Jogues, René Goupil and Jean Lalande gave their lives as martyrs for their faith in this village.
Click for enlarged viewThis young Indian's father was the Mohawk chief of the Turtle Clan, who four years earlier had been the leader of a raid on the town of Trois-Rivières and the Algonquin village of Sachem Charles Pachirini, in Québec, New France.
"Catherine Tekakwitha, so renowned today in New France for the extraordinary marvels that God has bestowed and continues to bestow through her intercession, was born an Iroquois in 1656 in a Mohawk village called Gahnaougé. Her mother, an Algonquin, had been baptized and educated among the French in Trois-Rivières. She was seized there by the Iroquois with whom we were at war at that time, and taken as a slave to their homeland. She lived there and after a little while was married to a native of the place, and had two children: a son, and a daughter, Catherine." Catherine Tekakwitha, Fr. Pierre Cholenec, S.J., Her Spiritual Advisor, Translated by William Lonc, S.J., 2002, p. 1, Permission granted, Email 4/20/02.
This raiding party had abducted French and Algonquin children as well as Algonquin women, one of whom was probably named Wahwahsekona. This Prairie Flower has also been referred to as Kahontake and Kahenta - was to become the wife of the chief and mother to Tekakwitha. Little else is known about this early life, other than in 1660, smallpox devastated the village of Ossernenon, causing the death of most of the villagers, among them the Chief, his wife and baby son. The little four year old Mohawk-Algonquin girl was left with a damaged eyesight and pockmarks on her face. She was immediately adopted by her uncle and aunt - the brother of her father who would inherit the title and duty of Chief of the Turtle Clan.
When I first set foot in Auriesville, I immediately saw, in my mind's eye, my cousin, Tekakwitha, as a four year old Mohawk-Algonquin girl roaming among the longhouses of her Turtle Clan. I felt her presence there. I saw her working alongside her mother. I saw "my little cousin" taking care of her baby brother as her mother Kahontake toiled in the woods and in the fields. The view of the Mohawk valley and its river, from the hillside, allowed me to see, in the twentieth century what this little Mohawk girl saw in the seventeenth century. She must have wondered and cringed as the adults used that hillside as the gauntlet for their enemies.
Kateri, consoler of the Heart of Jesus, pray for us.
Even at this young age, Tekakwitha must have felt compassion for these tortured souls. The Holy Spirit had already dwelt in her, even at this tender age. She was destined by the Creator to be one His saints and to be a model of holiness for her people.
Kateri, example to your people in all virtues, pray for us.
At this point, I need to clarify, for the reader, a phrase that I have used :"my little cousin - ma petite cousine - my distant cousin". My passion for genealogy continually leads me to research every detail of my ancestors - all of whom have roots in Québec and New France. I discovered about four years ago that I had two Native American ancestors: one a Mik'maq; the other an Algonquin. This Algonquin ancestor, named Mite8ameg8k8e, was most likely related to Kahontake. Both of these Algonquin women were citizens in the same Weskarini tribe of Sachem Charles Pachirini. The Algonquins originally came from the Ontario region, around Michillimakinac, (Maginaw City, Michigan). The Algonquins were pushed north by other tribes, the group splitting into two - one going north towards the Rapid Lake, north of Ottawa; the other heading towards the island, now called Montréal. This Weskarini tribe, headed by Sachem Pachirini, became Catholics, being baptized between 1643 and 1650 by the Jesuits in Montréal. The tribe continued their journey and erected their wigwams near the fort at Trois-Rivières. This provided both a religious and military stronghold for the Christian Algonquins. As I related earlier, Kahontake was abducted by the Iroquois Mohawks and brought to Ossernenon as the wife of the Chief and subsequently the mother of a young Mohawk-Algonquin girl named Tekakwitha. Mite8ameg8k8e was to marry Pierre Couc, a French soldier-farmer, after her first husband, an Algonquin named Assababich, was killed, and her two children were abducted, in this same raid of 1652. Through twelve generations of ancestors, Pierre and Marie, Christian name given to Mite8ameg8k8e at her baptism, became my eighth great-grandparents, upon their marriage in 1657 in Trois-Rivières. Thus, I can call Tekakwitha "ma petite cousine - my distant cousin". I feel her presence and her help in my life. My story is a Litany to My Cousin. The "8" in Algonquin can stand for a "w" before a vowel or "ou" after a consonant.
Kateri, leader of many Indians to the true faith through your love for Mary, pray for us.
In addition to Tekakwitha's presence at Ossernenon - Auriesville, the martyrdom of René Goupil, Jean Lalande and Isaac Jogues was a reality to be experienced and remembered. One knew that these holy Jesuits had bravely given up their lives for Christ. The presence of each of these martyrs is felt within the imaginary castle walls of the Mohawk village of Ossernenon, as well as in the Ravine, the Cathedral of Pines where Isaac Jogues buried the martyred body of René Goupil, and where his bones, scattered by Mohawk boys and dogs, lay buried somewhere amidst this wooded cathedral.
Kateri, flower of fortitude for the persecuted, pray for us.
Following the Stations of the Cross, I could not help meditating on what life must have been for this Indian child. She did all the things that a Native American did, yet she was different because God had destined her to be a mystic and a holy person throughout her short life in the wilderness.
The Mass on July 14 in honor of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha was celebrated by the present Vice-Postulator for Kateri's Cause in the United States, Father John Paret, S.J. His homily about Kateri reinforced my knowledge of her life devoted to Jesus and His Mother Mary.
CAUGHNAWAGA
The village was eventually moved across the Mohawk River to a new site called Caughnawaga. Tekakwitha received her name from her uncle and aunts. Because of her weakened eyes, she had trouble seeing in front of her, especially in the sunshine. She was named "Tekakwitha" - she who moves things before her, she who walks slowly groping for things". There is no mention of her name prior to this time.
For the next seventeen years, Tekakwitha lived as a Mohawk young girl would have lived, except that she did not wish to participate in the activities that were intended to attract the young braves, with a view of becoming wife to one of them. Frequently, she was tricked into meetings with a young brave with the intention of her aunts that she become favored by this brave. A Mohawk girl was expected to marry in order to provide for her family in their old age. She was frequently shunned by the other young people because she was different. She did not want to be part of the gauntlet whenever the braves brought captives into the village. An inner Spirit was guiding her soul towards holiness.
Kateri, full of patience in suffering, pray for us.
On several occasions, she saw the Black Robes come into her village of Caughnawaga. There seemed to be an aura of goodness surrounding these holy men. However, Tekakwitha was forbidden by her uncle to listen to or speak with them. He believed that the Black Robes were responsible for bringing disease and bad omens to his village. One day, in 1667, the Chief was forced to invite the Black Robes into his longhouse. The Jesuit missionaries, Fathers Frémin, Bruyas and Pierron, spent three days as guests in her uncle's lodge. It was Tekakwitha's duty to minister to them: prepare meals and see to their needs, as hostess in her uncle's longhouse. She felt the holiness of these men. She desperately wanted to know about their God and His Son. She vaguely remembered her mother speaking about this Christian God. Her mother might have taught her also about Jesus and Mary - Jesos and Wari. One of her mother's friends, Anastasie, frequently told Tekakwitha that her mother had embraced Christianity and had most likely taught her daughter some of the prayers to Jesus and Mary. Because her uncle and her aunts, who were vehemently opposed to Christianity, had forbidden her to speak to the Black Robes, Tekakwitha could not reveal to them her burning desire to learn about Jesus and Mary and to become a Christian like her mother had been. She did, however, hear their prayers and their talk about this Christian God, about Jesus and His mother Mary.
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It was not until Father Jacques de Lamberville, in 1674, accidentally came into her uncle's longhouse seeking information that Tekakwitha had enough strength to ask him if she could learn about his Christian God. She explained to this Jesuit priest that her mother was a Christian, that her mother's friend and adopted older sister Anastasie had spoken to her about Jesus and Mary, and that she wanted to learn more. However, it had to be carried out secretly for fear of her uncle and aunts' wrath. Father de Lamberville soon discovered that his pupil had an inherent holiness that only the Holy Spirit could have placed in this soul. There are saints who were destined to be saints by God sending His Holy Spirit to imbue these souls with holiness from the moment that these persons were placed on earth. Tekakwitha was one of these chosen by our Creator to become a saint.
Kateri, steadfast in all prayer, pray for us.
Tekakwitha was one of these souls selected by the Holy Spirit to serve God without reservation. As a result of this revelation to Father de Lamberville, the Jesuit priest allowed Tekakwitha to be baptized after a shorter instructional time than was the custom at that time. In those days the Fathers preparing people for baptism had them 'on trial' for a year and a half to two years. It was so difficult for an Indian convert to live up to the Faith surrounded by people whose ideas were different, that they made the prospective convert live the new Faith for that long, to be sure he or she really meant it. But in Kateri's case, it became evident to Father de Lamberville that this young lady not only truly understood all that was involved, but was determined to live her new Faith as well as possible, no matter what the difficulty.
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Therefore, on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1676, Tekakwitha was baptized and thus became a member of the Catholic Church, at St. Peter's Mission near the village of Caughnawaga. She was given the name of Kateri - Gahdehlee - Iroquois for Catherine.
As a result of her commitment to this Christian God, the Creator, Tekakwitha became the object of scorn and persecution by the other people in her village. Children laughed at her, threw stones at her and ridiculed her whenever she strayed from her uncle's longhouse. She became the subject of increased contempt from the people of her village. She was not only "the Christian", but she was also "the Algonquin".
When Tekakwitha reached the age when maidens needed to find a brave in matrimony, her family had found a young Mohawk for her. However, she announced that she was not giving herself to any man. She persisted in her decision despite the wrath of her family.
Kateri, keeper of your virginity in persecutions, pray for us.
She was accused of being lazy because she would not work on Sundays, the day devoted entirely in prayer to her God. She was even threatened by a young brave with a tomahawk who was about to strike her; she knelt peacefully in front of his attack, ready to die for her Jesus. The young brave was taken aback by her bravery and quietly withdrew without harming God's lovely and holy creature.
Kateri, courage of the afflicted, pray for us.
SECOND DISCOVERY
As I walked the grounds of St. Peter's Mission, I kept thinking about my discovery, about my cousin Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, about my request that she watch over my daughter's family as they were going through a tough period of divorce. The chapel is a quiet place with many paintings and artifacts pertaining to our Kateri. The hillside with its Stations of the Cross is an invitation to follow the passion of Jesus and to contemplate its mysteries as Tekakwitha did three hundred and fifty years ago. Then I saw the following statue:
Click for enlarged viewand the second event in my life happened. As I was praying to Kateri in front of this statue, I renewed my prayerful request that she watch over my daughter's family: herself and her two children. I became enraptured in meditative prayer. I felt myself going back to the time and place of Tekakwitha. She was speaking to me; she asked me to spend the rest of my life in spreading knowledge of and devotion to her. I promised her that her request would be my guide for the rest of my life here on earth. After moments of suspended time and space, I became aware of my presence before this statue. As I lowered my eyes in a final prayer, I noticed a feather near my feet - one that was not there before Tekakwitha spoke to me. I took this as a sign of her promise to and request of me. From that moment, I knew and felt that my cousin Kateri Tekakwitha would always occupy an important part of my life and of those around me.
I spent some time at the excavated site of Caughnawaga Castle of old. I could see my cousin Kateri going about working and praying within the castle walls. I could feel her presence here. I followed her path to the spring where she and other women of her tribe went to fetch water.
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I am not usually a patient person when trying to accomplish a project. For me, I need to do now. I have been asking Blessed Kateri for many favors: for others, for my family, for myself. At times, I was impatient in this regard. My cousin taught me patience. After returning from the Kateri Spring at Caughnawaga Castle, I locked all my belongings in the trunk of my car, including my car keys and my wife's handbag with her keys for safekeeping. As soon as I closed the lid, I realized that everything was locked up tight. We needed to walk to the Mission to call for roadside help. Three hours later, we were back on the road. I spent that waiting time walking the village site of my cousin: meditating and praying to her to give me patience in waiting for an answer to my requests. Thank you, cousin. You taught me a lesson and a virtue that was one of your strengths: You waited patiently for the Creator to hear your prayer to become a Christian.
It became evident that Tekakwitha's life in Caughnawaga was one of continuous persecution and ridicule. Her family continued their opposition to her new religion. Kateri practiced her religion without hesitation in the face of almost unbearable opposition and scorn.
Kateri, unshakeable in temptations, pray for us.
Her mentor and adopted older sister Anastasie had left, several years earlier, to go to the Christian village in New France. Word was sent to Tekakwitha that she was welcome there. With the help of two Christian Indians, she managed to escape her uncle's village and his pursuit of her to walk and paddle a canoe two hundred miles to the Catholic Mission at LaPrairie in New France.
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Kateri, who traveled many miles to learn the faith, pray for us.
ST. FRANCIS-XAVIER MISSION at LAPRAIRIE
I never visited this mission as it no longer exists. I did, however, see what Kateri's life was like in this environment, through the words of Jesuit Father Pierre Cholenec, a contemporary of Tekakwitha. I will rely on his words to tell us who and what "Catherine Tekakwitha" was.
Tekakwitha's deeply religious life did not really begin until she finally settled into this Mission at La Prairie de la Magdelaine. Father Jacques de Lamberville sent a letter along with Kateri to his Jesuit brothers, Fathers Frémin, Chauchetière and Pierre Cholenec at the Sault. He wrote, as reported by Father Cholenec:
"...I ask you to take her under your wing. She is a treasure from us to you, as you will soon see. Look after her well, and have her profit to God's glory and the salvation of a soul that is very dear to Him." Catherine Tekakwitha, Fr. Pierre Cholenec, S.J., Her Spiritual Advisor, Translated by William Lonc, S.J., 2002, p. 6.
With this recommendation, Father de Lamberville wished Father Cholenec to take care of this new arrival because he was already in charge of religious instructions at the Mission. Father Cholenec was to become her spiritual mentor and confessor.
Kateri, leader of many Indians to the true faiththrough your love of Mary, pray for us
Kateri was reunited with Anastasie, her mother's friend and adopted older sister, who became her mentor in the ways and prayers of this Christian village. Their spiritual conversation helped Kateri to sanctify her work. Her devotion to Jesus and Mary became the model of religious demeanor in her new community. Catherine grew in spirituality under her confessor, Father Cholonec. He wrote of her:
"In attaching herself to God, she attached herself to work as a very proper way of remaining united with Him and to maintain throughout the whole day the good thoughts she had received that morning at the foot of the altar (at the four AM mass)...To prepare for Confession, she began with the last part, by which I mean the penance, going into the woods to flog her shoulders with large branches, and then went to the church and spent a long time crying over her sins...considering herself the greatest sinner in the world,...Her horror of sin and fear of displeasing God made her love solitude so much,..." Ibid., pp. 10-11
Kateri, lover of penance, pray for us.
Many of the first Christians at the Sault practiced extraordinary acts of penance: wearing metal belts on their body, jumping into icy water, walking barefoot or rolling in the snow, mixing ashes with their sagamité, putting hot coals between their toes. Father Cholenec had to dissuade them from carrying out such practices.
In Autumn of 1677, the mission was transferred from LaPrairie to Sault Saint-Louis. There she met a person, probably Marie Thérèse TekaiaKentha. They became spiritually united to each other. The two were inseparable, both in work and in prayer.
...their hearts as well as their plans were completely identical...they went to sit at the foot of a cross that was on the bank of the great river, and after having told each other their life story, they resolved to do penance together. Since I was the spiritual director for each, they proposed this course of action and asked for my permission, which I gladly gave...one could say that they were one heart and one soul in two bodies." Ibid., pp. 22-23
The normal procedure for receiving the Eucharist consisted of several years of preparation. However, by the kind of spiritual life that Kateri led, so fervent and so exemplary, she merited to receive Holy Communion sooner than normal. At Christmas 1677, a few months after her arrival, she was allowed to receive the Eucharist.
Kateri, who loved Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.
"She was present for all the services of Holy Week, ...she wept many a tear, especially on Good Friday when she heard the preaching about the Passion of Jesus Christ...She bound herself to Him on that day, resolving to carry the mortifications of Jesus Christ on her virginal body for the rest of her days...On Easter she received Communion for the second time and she did this with the same dispositions, the same fervor, and the same benefits as at Christmas. And, to add to her spiritual goods and graces, she received a second grace from the missionary on this same feast-day -- membership in the Holy Family Confraternity -- a favor which he rarely accorded to anyone and thus indicated the esteem that he had for her virtue". Ibid., p. 17
Kateri, who by your love of humility, gave joy to the angels, pray for us.
For the next three years, Catherine continued to pray intensively and to carry out extraordinary acts of penance. She was finally advised by her confessor to tone down the excessive penances. Catherine cared for the sick and the aged, bringing them comfort both spiritual and material. After a visit to a convent in Montréal, she asked her confessor if she and a few of her friends could start a community of nuns. She was judged by her spiritual director as being too new a Christian for such an undertaking.
Kateri, humble servant to the sick, pray for us.
Catherine and Thérèse, one soul in two bodies,
"...decided on their own to never marry and to consecrate to God: the one, her virginity, and the other her perpetual widowhood, and they considered this as a big secret and resolved never to indulge it except in grave circumstances." Ibid., pp. 25-26
This decision caused a temporary rift between Catherine and Anastasie, who thought that her younger sister had decided too hastily in renouncing marriage. Anastasie complained to Father Cholenec about this decision. However, she finally realized that, because of her deep faith and admiration for Catherine, that she would support her "younger sister" and that Catherine had chosen the better part.
"It was the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1679 at eight in the morning that Catherine Tekakwitha, a moment after Jesus Christ gave Himself to her in Communion, gave herself totally to Him, and by renouncing marriage forever, she promised Him perpetual virginity. Then, with a heart all afire with His Love, she asked Him to be her only Spouse and to take her as His spouse in return. She prayed to Our Lady for whom she had a tender affection ... at the same time that she devoted herself to Jesus Christ, she also consecrated herself to Mary, asking her resolutely to be her mother and she her daughter." Ibid., pp. 35-36
Kateri, who loved to pray the rosary for all people, pray for us.
Father Cholenec testified about Kateri's holiness in these words:
"This is how Catherine Tekakwitha, after having been protected in innocence for more than twenty years among the bad and the sinners back home, here at the Sault, in a short time, becamse a saint among the Just and the Faithful". ;Ibid., p. 8.
Kateri, bright light of all Indians, pray for us

HER REMARKABLE DEATH
Kateri Tekakwitha was always frail. During her childhood, her eyes were weakened by smallpox, her body was abused through extraordinary penances, and about a year before her death, there was a grave malady, a low-grade fever accompanied by severe stomach pains and frequent vomiting. Even during the last month of her life, she was sleeping on a bed of pine-needles which ruined what little health she had left.
"For Catherine, these last days were truly precious days -- days of grace and holiness, because she spent them in living all those excellent virtues that she had performed so well during her life and which never appeared with more splendor that at the time of her death: her faith, her hope, her charity, humility, gentleness, patience, resignation, and a surprising joyfulness in the midst of her suffering... On Tuesday morning (of Holy Week), we saw that she was failing noticeably, so we gave her Holy Viaticum which she received with angelic love and devotion like a true spouse of Our Lord... On Wednesday morning, she was given Extreme Unction, which she received with the same devotion as for Holy Viaticum on the previous day. Around three o'clock in the afternoon she entered into her agony, the most peaceful in the world. Some time later she lost the power of speech after having spoken the holy names of Jesus and Mary... Finally, in less than half an hour after her agony began, she expired as peacefully as if she had entered a deep sleep." (bid., pp. 45-46
Kateri Tekakwitha died at the age of twenty-three, on Wednesday in Holy Week, April 17, 1680, around three in the afternoon. A miraculous event took place just fifteen minutes after her death. Her face marked by smallpox became so beautiful and so fair that Father Cholonec let out a yell and called others to see what had happened. It could have been at that moment that Kateri entered heaven and that she had a preview of the glory of her body risen with Christ.
Kateri, whose scarred face in life became beautiful after death, pray for us.
Kateri appeared to many of her people after her death, always carrying a Cross and being bathed in a bright and shining light.
There were many miracles that were attributed to Tekakwitha in the ensuing years following her death. In January of 1681, a sick man, Claude Caron, near death, was cured upon receiving on his body the crucifix held by Kateri on her deathbed. In the same month, a woman put Kateri's crucifix on her neck and she was instantly cured, in the presence of her children. She did not want to relinquish the crucifix, so the priest gave her powder from Kateri's tomb. Her husband was also cured with this powder. There were many cures during that year and in 1682 at the Sault Mission through the miraculous intervention of one of their own.
"So many miraculous cures made Catherine's name so renowned that this summer (1682) there have been requests for Masses and Novenas in her honor. The cures became so numerous that they were no longer recorded. There was practically not a month, and even a week, that went by without some cure -- and some of them were quite remarkable -- occurring somewhere in the French community."Ibid., p. 59
Kateri, your holy death gave strength to all Indians to love Jesus and Mary, pray for us.
Father Pierre Cholenec, through his manuscript Vie de Catherine Tekakwitha, has given us a contemporary look at Tekakwitha in the seventeenth century. However, there was another contemporary Jesuit, Father Chauchetière who painted a portrait of Kateri after she appeared to him, several times, a few years later.
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The written word of Father Cholenec and the portrait by Father Chauchetière combine to show us who and what Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha was.
Kateri, bright light of all Indians, pray for us.

On one of my visits to Kateri's shrines, I met the present Vice-Postulator for Kateri's Cause in Canada, Father Jacques Bruyère. He best described the St. Francis-Xavier Church and Shrine in Kahnawaké, Québec in this manner:
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"Kateri never knew this church, though her presence is strongly felt here. Kateri never prayed in this church, but she listens to the requests deposited by all kinds of people praying at her tomb.
After fleeing from Fonda, Kateri arrived at LaPrairie in 1676. She did not live there for long, however, as the mission soon moved upstream to Côte Sainte-Catherine, where she quickly became a fervent church-goer. She believed that her God was there in a special way, and she would take refuge in the little chapel to renew her physical and spiritual strength. While praying, Kateri would be transformed to such a degree that her people liked to come and watch her pray with such ardor, with such rapture... In the presence of her Lord, her heart was burning.
The churches that she visited - at Fonda, LaPrairie and Côte Sainte-Catherine - have all disappeared. The one dedicated to St. Francis-Xavier in Kahnawake goes back to 1720 only. The cornerstone of the present church built on the same site was laid on May 19, 1845. All the statues and the religious gifts offered by the nobility of France, who showed such true missionary spirit, were re-installed in the new church. The monstrance before which Kateri must have prayed and contemplated, is conserved here - she had such a deep devotion to the Blessed Eucharist.
After her death in 1680, her remains were stored away in the church of Côte Sainte-Catherine. When the Mission finally settled down in Kahnawake opposite Lachine in 1720, her bones were also brought here. White-haired pilgrims may remember having seen them in a sealed glass box which would be taken out of the rectory vault every morning with great veneration.
It is only on November 1st 1972 that Bishop G.-M. Coderre presided at the translation of the precious relics into a marble tomb in the right transept of the church.
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Without any doubt Kateri is rejoicing with us on this anniversary and contemplating all the baptisms, first communions, novenas, pilgrimages, weddings, funerals and masses which have been celebrated here these 150 years. She promised that she would take care of her own people and of the whole country after her death. Since she was declared the second patron of this church on April 17, 1983, she must be doing so much more than ever.
Happy Anniversary to the St. Francis-Xavier church and to the Shrine of Blessed Kateri! Let us thank God for all His gifts!"

I left a photo of my two grand-children touching her marble tomb, resubmitting my request to Kateri to watch over her little cousins during this critical time in their lives. As I knelt there, once again I felt her presence, I heard her speaking to my soul asking me to pursue her cause, so that the First Nation people would have a saint of their own.
Being in the presence of my cousin's bones in this mission church reinforced my commitment to her to let the world know who she was. I promised her that I would speak to one and all about her life, a soul in the wilderness enraptured by her Creator. I vowed on her tomb that I would use my talents as a web designer to create a web site, with an interactive Guestbook, so that people around the world could visit and contribute, thereby learning and teaching about this wonderful Native American soon-to-be
KATERI TEKAKWITHA: A MODEL FOR YOUTH
I would like to end A Litany to My Cousin with the following proposal that Kateri be the model of our youth, written by Michel Fortin, M. Afr.
-Young: in a world where the young are discredited, abused and pushed aside because of their lack of experience. -Woman: in a world where the young girls and women are discriminated against and do not have equal rights. -Amerindian: in a world where minorities are not respected. -Algonquin: in an Iroquois world, insults were hurled at her "Hey, the Algonquin!", the mark of racial prejudice. -Christian: in a pagan world, she battled continuously for her faith against all sorts of mockery and abuse. She had to go into exile to survive. -Orphan: Her parents died of smallpox. She was adopted by her uncle, an avowed anti-christian. -Handicapped: because of smallpox, she was nearly blind. Her name came from this handicap: "she walks by feeling her way around". -Refugee: not being able to live freely in her pagan village in the USA, she fled to live in LaPrairie, Québec, Canada. -Canadian: for the Church here (in Canada), she is proposed as a model. -Lay person: she wanted to become a nun within the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre-Dame, but God wanted her in her own environment. She led a life of simplicity. -Missionary: she was always looking to "convert" her own people. -Teacher: she taught catechism to the children. -Courageous: she performed all daily work (especially those that were repulsed by others) and found there her sanctity by imitating Jesus. -Great praying person: she spent hours in Jesus' presence in the chapel or in the woods. -Generous: she visited the sick and took care of the little ones. She was very devoted to this task. -Pure: in a world where all the young maidens took a husband, she vowed her virginity to God. -Gentle: she never reacted to insult or to mockery. At the beginning, she was called "Hey! you, the Algonquin". Then, it was "Hey, you, the Christian". She prayed for peace. -Devoted: she had a very special devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. She always carried a rosary in hand. -Lover: she wanted to be the spouse of Jesus and His Cross. This love, marked with the Cross, symbol of universal salvation, the door to open all sorts of sacrifices in order to imitate her Divine Spouse."
Michel Fortin, M. Afr.
Permission granted by Father Jacques Bruyère, in a letter dated April 2002, to translate this article appearing in KATERI, No. 168, Lys des Agniers, Printemps, 2002, p. 6, written by Michel Fortin, M.Afr.
AMEN
O Jesus, who gave Kateri to the Indians as an example of purity, teach all men to love purity, and to console your immaculate Mother Mary through the lily, Kateri Tekakwitha, and your Holy Cross. Amen.
The Litany, used throughout this story, is a copy of a prayer received at mass at St. Peter's Mission Church, in Fonda, NY, on July 14, 2000.
Thereupon, I submit "A Litany to My Cousin" to you, the reader, with the hope and prayer that you too will be watched over and blessed by our soon-to-be
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.
Written as a prayerful tribute to my cousinKateri Tekakwitha

Pope Benedict Celebrates His 83rd Birthday

Benedict XVI, that he may enter the challenging role of leader of the Roman Catholic Church with grace, dignity, compassion and care for his flock all over the world. And a special wish that all people of earth will realize we are part of the holy family of humankind!
"Holy Father, Benedict XVI Through this prayer, with honor we sayMay the Light of all LightsGuide you each daySo your blessings flow overThe world flock in your careEach and every way.Holy Father, Benedict XVI We your children, with honor do prayMay God's grace and loveKeep you safe alwaysClose to the Supreme Heart of HeartsIn peace and joy - wisdom and careAlive in the Lord day to day!"

Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on 16 April 1927) is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and, as such, Sovereign of the Vatican City State.

He was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship. He succeeded John Paul II.

Happy 83rd Birthday to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates his 83rd birthday today. Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger) was born on April 16, 1927 at Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany and was baptized on the same day as it was Holy Saturday and in Catholic tradition, children are baptized on Easter Vigil.
His father, Joseph Ratzinger Sr., was a police officer and belonged to a family of peasants while his mother, according to the Pope’s official biography, was the daughter of artisans from Rimsting on the shore of Lake Chiem, and before marrying she worked as a cook in a number of hotels. Joseph Ratzinger’s brother, Georg Ratzinger is a priest and was director of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir, a famous church choir in Germany, for quite a long time.
Ratzinger spent his youthful years in tumultuous times. In 1941, a few days after his 14th birthday, he was forced to join the Hitler Youth Movement. Because he was only coerced to join the movement, he refused to participate in the meetings and activities of the group. Later on as a seminarian, he was drafted into the German anti-aircraft corps but a subsequent infirmity did not permit him from fulfilling his military duty.
Joseph and Georg Ratzinger were both ordained in Freising on June 29, 1951 by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Munich.
Ratzinger joined the academic community of the University of Bonn as a theology professor in 1959. During his stint as faculty, he was appointed advisor of the Archbishop of Munich. It was also during this time when he was summoned to be part of the historic Second Vatican Council. From then on, he has been known the world over as a brilliant theologian.
In 1977, he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and in 1981, he was summoned by Pope John Paul II to head the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. After the death of Pope John Paul II, he was elected by the College of Cardinals as the 265th Successor of Peter.
We wish His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI good health and God’s immense blessings on his birthday. May he steadfastly lead the Church worldwide as we face great challenges. Happy 83rd Birthday to our Holy Father!

Pope Benedict Celebrates His 83rd Birthday

April 16, 2010, marks the 83rd anniversary of the birth of Joseph Ratzinger, better known to the world today as Pope Benedict XVI. Today's celebration will be rather low-key; the Holy Father has returned to the Vatican after spending some time at his summer residence, Castelgandolfo, a little ways south of Rome.
Two years ago, the Holy Father celebrated his 81st birthday during his first apostolic journey to the United States. He had a full schedule that day, including an official welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House and a celebration of vespers (evening prayer) and a meeting with the bishops of the United States at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, on the campus of The Catholic University of America in Northeast Washington, D.C.

The Holy Father begins his 84th year at one of the most trying times of an extraordinarily difficult pontificate. Inaccurate or downright deceitful reporting of sexual-abuse scandals in the Catholic Church has concealed the fact that no other high-ranking prelate has done as much, both before his election as pope and afterward, to rid the Church of abusive priests. Such headlines, alas, would not sell newspapers; sensationalistic untruths, however, do.
On Monday, when Pope Benedict celebrates the fifth anniversary of his election, I will discuss some of the major initiatives of his very active pontificate. His actions over the past five years have been just what the Church needed; and that, more than anything else, may explain the feeding frenzy among reporters who, to put it mildly, do not care for the theology of Pope Benedict or the Catholic Church.
On the Holy Father's 83rd birthday, please join in showing your support for Pope Benedict and in praying the Knights of Columbus novena for the Holy Father between now and Monday.
May God grant his servant Pope Benedict XVI many more years, as he faithfully preaches the word of His Truth!

Remembering President Abraham Lincoln after 145 years!

Abraham Lincoln:You are truly one of the nation's greatest president, you were a great think and preserver of the Union, thanks for serving the presidency, thank your great contribuations in the presidency, you were truly the Union's secret weapon, may you have a peaceful and remembering you after 145 years, may you rest in peace!

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln, one of the last major events in the American Civil War, took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln was shot while attending a performance of "Our American Cousin"" at Ford's Theater with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln and two guests.

Lincoln's assassin, actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth, had also plotted with fellow conspirators, Lewis Powell and George Atzerodt, to kill William H. Seward (then Secretary of State) and Vice President Andrew Johnson respectively. Although Booth succeeded in killing Lincoln, the larger plot failed. Seward was attacked, but recovered from his wounds, and Johnson's would-be assassin fled Washington, D.C. upon losing his nerve.

Death of President Lincoln

Ford's Theatre in 1865
Mary Lincoln's and Clara Harris' screams and Rathbone's cries of "Stop that man!" caused the audience to understand that this was not part of the show, and pandemonium broke out in Ford's Theatre. Dr. Charles Leale, a young Army surgeon on liberty for the night and attending the play, made his way through the crowd to the door at the rear of the Presidential box. It would not open. Finally Rathbone saw a notch carved in the door and a wooden brace jammed there to hold the door shut. Booth had carved the notch there earlier in the day and noiselessly put the brace up against the door after entering the box to kill Lincoln. Rathbone shouted to Leale, who stepped back from the door, allowing Rathbone to remove the brace and open the door.

Leale entered the box to find Rathbone bleeding profusely from a deep gash that ran the length of his upper left arm. Nonetheless, he passed Rathbone by and stepped forward to find Lincoln slumped forward in his chair, held up by Mary, who was sobbing. Lincoln had no pulse and Leale believed him to be dead. Leale lowered the President to the floor. A second doctor in the audience, Dr. Charles Sabin Taft, was lifted bodily from the stage over the railing and into the box. Taft and Leale cut away Lincoln's blood-stained collar and opened his shirt, and Leale, feeling around by hand, discovered the bullet hole in the back of the head by the left ear. Leale removed a clot of blood in the wound and Lincoln's breathing improved. Still, Leale knew it made no difference: "His wound is mortal. It is impossible for him to recover."

President Lincoln, surrounded by officers and doctors, on his death bed
Leale, Taft, and another doctor from the audience, Dr. Albert King, quickly consulted and decided that while the President must be moved, a bumpy carriage ride across town to the White House was out of the question. After briefly considering Peter Taltavull's Star Saloon next door, they chose to carry Lincoln across the street and find a house. The three doctors and some soldiers who had been in the audience carried the President out the front entrance of Ford's. Across the street, a man was holding a lantern and calling "Bring him in here! Bring him in here!" The man was Henry Safford, a boarder at William Petersen's boarding house opposite Ford's. The men carried Lincoln into the boarding house and into the first-floor bedroom, where they laid him diagonally on the bed because he was too tall to lie straight.

A vigil began at the Petersen House. The three physicians already in attendance were joined by Surgeon General of the United States Army Dr. Joseph K. Barnes, Dr. Charles Henry Crane, Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott, and Dr. Robert K. Stone. Crane was a Major and Barnes' assistant. Stone was Lincoln's personal physician. Robert Lincoln, who had stayed home, arrived at the Petersen House after being told of the shooting at about midnight. Tad Lincoln, who had attended Grover's Theater to see Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, was not allowed to go to the Peterson House.

Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles and United States Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton came and took charge of the scene. Mary Lincoln was so unhinged by the experience of the assassination that Stanton ordered her out of the room by shouting, "Take that woman out of here and do not let her in here again!" While Mary Lincoln sobbed in the front parlor, Stanton set up shop in the rear parlor, effectively running the United States government for several hours, sending and receiving telegrams, taking reports from witnesses, and issuing orders for the pursuit of Booth.

Nothing more could be done for President Lincoln. At 7:22 a.m. on April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln died. He was 56 years old. Mary Lincoln was not present at the time of his death. The crowd around the bed knelt for a prayer, and when they were finished, Stanton said "Now he belongs to the ages". There is some disagreement among historians as to Stanton's words after Lincoln died. All agree that he began "Now he belongs to the..." with some stating he said "ages" while others believe he said "angels".

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is one of the most famous Presidents of the United States. Volumes are devoted to his life and death. However, historians have yet to unravel the mysteries surrounding his assassination. Here are the known facts:
Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln attended the play, Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. They were to be accompanied by General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia Dent Grant. However, Grant and his wife changed their plans and did not attend the play. The Lincoln's attended the play with Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone.
During the play, actor John Wilkes Booth entered Lincoln's State Box undetected and shot him in the back of the head. He also stabbed Henry Rathbone in the arm.
After shooting the President, Booth jumped out of the box onto the stage, broke his left leg and yelled something that some eyewitnesses reported as, "Sic Semper Tyrannus" (As always to tyrants).
Co-conspirator Lewis Powell (or Paine/Payne) attempted to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward, but only managed to injure him. David Herold accompanied Powell. However, Herold fled before the deed was finished. At the same time, George Atzerodt was supposed to have killed Vice-President Andrew Johnson. Atzerodt did not go through with the assassination.
Booth and Herold escaped the Capital and traveled to Mary Surratt's Tavern in Maryland where they picked up supplies. They then traveled to Dr. Samuel Mudd's house where Booth's leg was set.
Lincoln was taken to the Petersen House across the street from Ford's Theater where he eventually died at 7:22 A.M. April 15, 1865.
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton stayed with the Lincolns at the Petersen House and coordinated the efforts to capture the conspirators.
On April 26, Herold and Booth were found hiding in a barn near Port Royal, Virginia. Herold surrendered but Booth refused to come out of the barn so it was set on fire. In the ensuing chaos, a soldier shot and killed Booth.
Eight Lincoln conspirators were caught over the next few days and tried by a military court. They were found guilty on June 30 and given various sentences depending upon their involvement. Lewis Powell (Paine), David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt were charged with conspiring with Booth along with various other crimes and hanged on July 7, 1865. Dr. Samuel Mudd was charged with conspiring with Booth and sentenced to life in prison. Andrew Johnson eventually pardoned him early in 1869. Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlen had conspired with Booth to kidnap President Lincoln and were found guilty and sentenced to life. O'Laughlen died in prison but Arnold was pardoned by Johnson in 1869. Edman Spangler was found guilty of helping Booth escape from Ford's Theater. He was also pardoned by Johnson in 1869.

Remembering President Franklin Delano Roosevelt after 65 years

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945; was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. The only American president elected to more than two terms, he was often referred to by his initials, FDR. Roosevelt won his first of four presidential elections in 1932, while the United States was in the depths of the Great Depression. FDR's combination of optimism and economic activism is often credited with keeping the country's economic crisis from developing into a political crisis. He led the United States through most of World War II, and died in office of a cerebral hemorrhage shortly before the war ended.

Fourth term and death, 1945:

The President left the Yalta Conference on February 12, 1945, and flew to Egypt and boarded the USS Quincy operating on the Great Bitter Lake near the Suez Canal. Aboard Quincy, the next day he met with Farouk I, king of Egypt, and Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia. On February 14, he held a historic meeting with King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, a meeting which holds profound significance in U.S.-Saudi relations even today.

After a final meeting between Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Quincy steamed for Algiers, arriving February 18, at which time Roosevelt conferred with American ambassadors to Britain, France and Italy.

At Yalta, Lord Moran, Winston Churchill's physician, commented on Roosevelt's ill health: "He is a very sick man. He has all the symptoms of hardening of the arteries of the brain in an advanced stage, so that I give him only a few months to live".
When he returned to the United States, he addressed Congress on March 1 about the Yalta Conference, and many were shocked to see how old, thin and frail he looked. He spoke while seated in the well of the House, an unprecedented concession to his physical incapacity. (He opened his speech by saying, "I hope that you will pardon me for this unusual posture of sitting down during the presentation of what I want to say, but...it makes it a lot easier for me not to have to carry about ten pounds of steel around on the bottom of my legs." This was his only public mention of his disability.)

But mentally he was still in full command. "The Crimean Conference," he said firmly, "ought to spell the end of a system of unilateral action, the exclusive alliances, the spheres of influence, the balances of power, and all the other expedients that have been tried for centuries– and have always failed. We propose to substitute for all these, a universal organization in which all peace-loving nations will finally have a chance to join."[

During March 1945, he sent strongly worded messages to Stalin accusing him of breaking his Yalta commitments over Poland, Germany, prisoners of war and other issues. When Stalin accused the western Allies of plotting a separate peace with Hitler behind his back, Roosevelt replied: "I cannot avoid a feeling of bitter resentment towards your informers, whoever they are, for such vile misrepresentations of my actions or those of my trusted subordinates."

On March 29, 1945, Roosevelt went to Warm Springs to rest before his anticipated appearance at the founding conference of the United Nations. On the afternoon of April 12, Roosevelt said, "I have a terrific pain in the back of my head." He then slumped forward in his chair, unconscious, and was carried into his bedroom. The president's attending cardiologist, Dr. Howard Bruenn, diagnosed a massive cerebral hemorrhage (stroke). At 3:35 p.m. that day, Roosevelt died. As Allen Drury later said, “so ended an era, and so began another.” After Roosevelt's death an editorial by The New York Times declared, "Men will thank God on their knees a hundred years from now that Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the White House".

News of Roosevelt's final words were intentionally misinterpreted in Japan for propaganda purposes as "Oh, what a terrible thing I have done!" At the time he collapsed, Roosevelt had been sitting for a portrait painting by the artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff, known as the famous Unfinished Portrait of FDR.

Roosevelt's horse-drawn casket during his Pennsylvania Avenue funeral procession.
In his later years at the White House, Roosevelt was increasingly overworked and his daughter Anna Roosevelt Boettiger had moved in to provide her father companionship and support. Anna had also arranged for her father to meet with his former mistress, the now widowed Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd. Shoumatoff, who maintained close friendships with both Roosevelt and Mercer, rushed Mercer away to avoid negative publicity and implications of infidelity. When Eleanor heard about her husband's death, she was also faced with the news that Anna had been arranging these meetings with Mercer and that Mercer had been with Franklin when he died.
On the morning of April 13, Roosevelt's body was placed in a flag-draped coffin and loaded onto the presidential train. After a White House funeral on April 14, Roosevelt was transported back to Hyde Park by train, guarded by four servicemen from the Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. As was his wish, Roosevelt was buried in the Rose Garden of the Springwood estate, the Roosevelt family home in Hyde Park on April 15. After her death in November 1962, Eleanor was buried next to him.

Roosevelt's death was met with shock and grief across the U.S. and around the world. His declining health had not been known to the general public. Roosevelt had been president for more than 12 years, longer than any other person, and had led the country through some of its greatest crises to the impending defeat of Nazi Germany and to within sight of the defeat of Japan as well. Less than a month after his death, on May 8, came the moment Roosevelt fought for: V-E Day. President Harry Truman, who turned 61 that day, dedicated V-E Day and its celebrations to Roosevelt's memory, as well as keeping the flags across the U.S. at half-staff for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period to pay tribute to Roosevelt's commitment to ending the war in Europe.

Roosevelt's death spared him the monumental decision on whether to use the atom bomb, which now fell to President Truman. Many factors influenced Truman's decision, including the advice of political and military leaders, an American public that was eager for an end to the war, and the possibility of a quick victory over Japan. Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 and on Nagasaki on August 9. The impact of the bombs was devastating; more than 130,000 people were killed at Hiroshima and approximately another 80,000 died at Nagasaki. Five days later, Japan surrendered unconditionally, and World War II ended.

Legacy
A 1999 survey by C-SPAN found that by a wide margin academic historians consider Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Roosevelt the three greatest presidents, consistent with other surveys. Roosevelt is the sixth most admired person from the 20th century by US citizens, according to Gallup.

Both during and after his terms, critics of Roosevelt questioned not only his policies and positions, but also the consolidation of power that occurred because of his lengthy tenure as president, his service during two major crises, and his enormous popularity. The rapid expansion of government programs that occurred during Roosevelt's term redefined the role of the government in the United States, and Roosevelt's advocacy of government social programs was instrumental in redefining liberalism for coming generations.

Roosevelt firmly established the United States' leadership role on the world stage, with pronouncements such as his Four Freedoms speech, forming a basis for the active role of the United States in the war and beyond.

After Franklin's death, Eleanor Roosevelt continued to be a forceful presence in U.S. and world politics, serving as delegate to the conference which established the United Nations and championing civil rights. Many members of his administration played leading roles in the administrations of Truman, Kennedy and Johnson, each of whom embraced Roosevelt's political legacy.

Roosevelt's home in Hyde Park is now a National historic site and home to his Presidential library. His retreat at Warm Springs, Georgia is a museum operated by the state of Georgia. His summer retreat on Campobello Island is maintained by the governments of both Canada and the United States as Roosevelt Campobello International Park; the island is accessible by way of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge.

The Roosevelt Memorial is located in Washington, D.C. next to the Jefferson Memorial on the Tidal Basin, and Roosevelt's image appears on the Roosevelt dime. Many parks and schools, as well as an aircraft carrier and a Paris subway station and hundreds of streets and squares both across the US and the rest of the world have been named in his honor.
Reflecting on Roosevelt's presidency, "which brought the United States through the Great Depression and World War II to a prosperous future", said FDR's biographer Jean Edward Smith in 2007, "He lifted himself from a wheelchair to lift the nation from its knees".

Franklin Delano Roosevelt:Sir You brought the presidency to a new level in the 20th century. You served the presidency for amazing 12 years. You were born as a leader, thanks for serving the presidency, remembering you after 65 years today, may you rest in peace!

Remembering a great Pope after 5 Years later

Venerable Pope John Paul II: I will never forget this day for the rest of my life, Holy Father, you were the one who inspired me to become a better Catholic, I will treasure it dearly, I hope you become a saint soon, remembering you after 5 years today, may you rest in peace!

On 31 March 2005 following a urinary tract infection Pope John Paul II developed septic shock, a widespread form of infection with a very high fever and profoundly low blood pressure, but was not taken to the hospital. Instead, he was offered medical monitoring by a team of consultants at his private residence. This was taken as an indication that the pope and those close to him believed that he was nearing death; it would have been in accordance with his wishes to die in the Vatican. Later that day, Vatican sources announced that John Paul II had been given the Anointing of the Sick by his friend and secretary Stanisław Dziwisz. During the final days of the Pope's life, the lights were kept burning through the night where he lay in the Papal apartment on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace. Tens of thousands of people assembled and held vigil in St. Peter's Square and the surrounding streets for two days. Upon hearing of this, the dying pope was said to have stated: “I have searched for you, and now you have come to me, and I thank you.”On Saturday 2 April 2005, at about 15:30 CEST, John Paul II spoke his final words, “pozwólcie mi odejść do domu Ojca”, (“Let me depart to the house of the Father”), to his aides in his native Polish and fell into a coma about four hours later. The mass of the vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter commemorating the canonisation of Saint Maria Faustina on 30 April 2000,had just been celebrated at his bedside, presided over by Stanisław Dziwisz and two Polish associates. Also present at the bedside was a cardinal from Ukraine who served as a priest with John Paul in Poland, along with Polish nuns of the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, who ran the papal household. He died in his private apartment, at 21:37 CEST (19:37 UTC) of heart failure from profound hypotension and complete circulatory collapse from septic shock, 46 days short of his 85th birthday. John Paul had no close family by the time he died, and his feelings are reflected in his words, as written in 2000, at the end of his Last Will and Testament:

“As the end of my earthly life approaches, I return with my memory to its beginning, to my parents, my brother and the sister (whom I never knew because she died before my birth), to the Parish of Wadowice where I was baptised, to that city I love, to my peers, friends from elementary school, high school and the university, up to the time of the occupation when I was a worker, then in the Parish in Niegowic, to St Florian's in Kraków, to the pastoral ministry of academics, to the milieu of... to all milieux... to Kraków and to Rome... to the people who were entrusted to me in a special way by the Lord.”


The death of the pontiff set in motion rituals and traditions dating back to medieval times. The Rite of Visitation took place from 4 April to 7 April at St. Peter's Basilica. The Testament of Pope John Paul II published on 7 April revealed that the pontiff contemplated being buried in his native Poland but left the final decision to The College of Cardinals, which in passing, preferred burial beneath St. Peter's Basilica, honouring the pontiff's request to be placed "in bare earth". The Mass of Requiem on 8 April was said to have set world records both for attendance and number of heads of state present at a funeral. It was the single largest gathering of heads of state in history, surpassing the funerals of Winston Churchill (1965) and Josip Broz Tito (1980). Four kings, five queens, at least 70 presidents and prime ministers, and more than 14 leaders of other religions were attending alongside the faithful. It is also likely to have been the largest single pilgrimage of Christianity in history, with numbers estimated in excess of four million mourners gathering in Rome. From 250,000 to 300,000 watched the event from within the Vatican walls. The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would become the next pope, conducted the ceremony. John Paul II was interred in the grottoes under the basilica, the Tomb of the Popes. He was lowered into a tomb created in the same alcove previously occupied by the remains of Pope John XXIII. The alcove had been empty since Pope John's remains had been moved into the main body of the basilica after his beatification. Pope John Paul II reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City for almost 27 years. Since his death on April 2, 2005, many thousands of people have been supporting the case for beatifying and canonising the late Pope John Paul II as a Saint. Since the death of John Paul II, a number of clergy at the Vatican and laymen throughout the world have been referring to the late pontiff as "John Paul the Great"—only the fourth pope to be so acclaimed, and the first since the first millennium. Scholars of Canon Law say that there is no official process for declaring a pope "Great"; the title simply establishes itself through popular and continued usage. The three popes who today commonly are known as "Great" are: Leo I, who reigned from 440–461 and persuaded Attila the Hun to withdraw from Rome; Gregory I, 590–604, after whom the Gregorian Chant is named; and Pope Nicholas I 858-867.
His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, referred to him as "the great Pope John Paul II" in his first addressed from the loggia of St Peter's Church, and he referred to Pope John Paul II as "the Great" in his published written homily for the Mass of Repose.
Since giving his homily at the funeral of Pope John Paul, Pope Benedict XVI has continued to refer to John Paul II as "the Great." At the 2005 World Youth Day in Germany, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking in Polish, John Paul's native language, said, “As the great Pope John Paul II would say: keep the flame of faith alive in your lives and your people.” In May 2006, Pope Benedict XVI visited John Paul's native Poland. During that visit he repeatedly made references to “the great John Paul” and “my great predecessor”.
In addition to the Vatican calling him "the great," numerous newspapers have also done so. For example the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera called him "the Greatest" and the South African Catholic newspaper, The Southern Cross, has called him "John Paul II The Great."
Titles
John Paul II's official title was: ‘Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of Saint Peter, Head of the College of Bishops, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, Servus Servorum Dei, Pope John Paul II.’ In 2006 the title Patriarch of the West was removed from the papal list of titles by the reigning pope, Benedict XVI.
Beatification
On 9 May 2005, Benedict XVI began the beatification process for his predecessor. Normally five years must pass after a person's death before the beatification process can begin. However, in an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, Camillo Ruini, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome and the one responsible for promoting the cause for canonisation of any person who dies within that diocese, cited "exceptional circumstances" which suggested that the waiting period could be waived.
The "exceptional circumstances" may possibly refer to the people's cries of "Santo Subito!" ("Make him a Saint Now!" in Italian) during the late pontiff's funeral. Therefore the new Pope waived the five year rule "so that the cause of Beatification and Canonisation of the same Servant of God can begin immediately. The decision was announced on 13 May 2005, the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima and the 24th anniversary of the assassination attempt on John Paul II at St. Peter's Square. John Paul II often credited Our Lady of Fátima for preserving him on that day. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, officially opened the cause for beatification in the Lateran Basilica on 28 June 2005.
In early 2006, it was reported that the Vatican was investigating a possible miracle associated with John Paul II. A French nun, confined to her bed by Parkinson's Disease, is reported to have experienced a "complete and lasting cure after members of her community prayed for the intercession of Pope John Paul II". The nun was later identified as Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, a member of the Congregation of Little Sisters of Catholic Maternity Wards from Puyricard, near Aix-en-Provence. Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, 46, is working again, now in Paris at a maternity hospital run by her order. She met reporters 30 March 2006 in Aix-en-Provence during a press conference with Archbishop Claude Feidt of Aix, the archdiocese where the cure took place.
“I was sick and now I am cured,” she told reporters. “I am cured, but it is up to the church to say whether it was a miracle or not.”
On 28 May 2006, Pope Benedict XVI said Mass before an estimated 900,000 people in John Paul II's native Poland. During his homily he encouraged prayers for the early canonisation of John Paul II and stated that he hoped canonisation would happen "in the near future."
In January 2007, it was announced by Stanisław Cardinal Dziwisz of Kraków, his former secretary, that the key interviewing phase in Italy and Poland of the beatification process was nearing completion. Cardinal Dziwisz had been giving an interview that featured the introduction of his new book in Polish and Italian, Living With Karol, when he made the announcement. In February 2007, the website of the late pope's sainthood cause has stated that relics of Pope John Paul II — pieces of white papal cassocks he used to wear — were being freely distributed with prayer cards for the cause to interested parties; this distribution and prayerful use of relics is a typical praiseworthy pious practice after a saintly Catholic's death.
On 8 March 2007 the Vicariate of Rome announced that the diocesan phase of John Paul's cause for beatification is at an end. Following a ceremony on 2 April 2007 — the second anniversary of the Pontiff's death — the cause proceeded to the scrutiny of the committee of lay, clerical, and episcopal members of the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who will conduct an investigation of their own. On the fourth anniversary of Pope John Paul's death, 2 April 2009, Cardinal Dziwisz, told reporters of a presumed miracle that had recently occurred at the former pope's tomb in St. Peter's Basilica. A nine year-old Polish boy from Gdańsk, who was suffering from kidney cancer and was completely unable to walk, had been visiting the tomb with his parents. On leaving St. Peter's basilica, the boy told them, "I want to walk," and began walking normally.
In October 2009, Rome's mayor Gianni Alemanno said that the beatification, likely to draw huge crowds, was expected to take place in 2010, but on 4 November 2009 Monsignor Slawomir Oder, postulator of the cause of beatification, said that it was not yet known when study of the case could be concluded. On 16 November 2009, a panel of reviewers at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints voted unanimously that Pope John Paul II had lived a life of virtue. If Pope Benedict XVI agrees, he will sign the first of two decrees needed for beatification. The first recognises that he lived a heroic, virtuous life and enables him to be called "Venerable", the next step in the sainthood process. That decree was signed by Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday, December 19, 2009. The second vote and the second signed decree would recognise the authenticity of his first miracle (most likely, the case of Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, the French nun who was cured of Parkinson's Disease). Once the second decree is signed, the ‘positio′ (the report on the cause, with documentation about his life and his writings and with information on the cause) is regarded as being complete. He can then be beatified. Some have speculated that this would be sometime during or soon after October of 2010, the anniversary of his election as Pope. Monsignor Slawomir Oder, postulator of the cause, in his book on the Pope, mentioned on the light of the beatification process, that Pope John Paul II flagellated himself and how he used a whip which he also took to his holiday home in Castelgandolfo. The book publishes the testimony of 114 witnesses. He also mentions that the group Brigate Rosse planned to kidnap him.

“It will be a great joy for us when he is officially beatified, but as far as we are concerned he is already a Saint.”
”
—Stanisław Dziwisz