Kateri Tekakwitha, often invoked by believers as the Lily of the Mohawks, was born over three centuries ago in a Native American village some 40 miles outside of Albany, New York. She died when she was 24. A request for her canonization was filed in 1884, and Pope John Paul II recognized her as "blessed" in 1980. Here, a member of the faithful wears an Indian headdress in honor of Tekakwitha as she holds a painting depicting the new Native American saint.
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Jacques Berthieu of France was a Jesuit priest killed by rebels in 1896 during missionary work in Madagascar.
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Pedro Calungsod was a Filipino teenager who worked with Spanish Jesuit missionaries in Guam in the 17th century. He was killed by natives and his canonization today makes him the Philippines second Roman Catholic saint. Here, a boy kisses a statue of Calungsod (C), today named by the Church as a patron of young people.
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Maria Anna Cope was born in Germany but is known as the "Mother Marianne of Molokai" in reference to her work with lepers on the Hawaiian island. The Franciscan nun was born in 1838 and died in 1918.
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Giovanni Battista Piamarta was born in Italy in 1841. Father Piamarta was known for his dedication to children and the sick. As the industrial revolution swept Italy, Piamarta founded the Workman’s Institute, which offered spiritual direction and support to young people moving to the city for work. He started a similar initiative for farm workers. He died in 1913.
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Maria Schaeffer from the German state of Bavaria lived an almost entirely bedridden life after a severe accident with boiling water. Known for her missionary zeal, the laywoman died in 1925.
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Maria del Carmen was born in Spain in 1848. She founded the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching and died in 1911.
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