Montreal, Canada, Nov 11, 2012 / 16:12 pm
Canadians from the country's First Nations and those of European descent took an important step toward reconciliation when they gathered Nov. 4 at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal to give thanks for the canonization of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.
"I think the grace of the canonization for the natives, as well as for the other people in Canada, is a grace of reconciliation," Bishop Lionel Gendron of the Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil told CNA on Nov. 7.
Bishop Gendron was the main celebrant and homilist for the Mass that drew 2,500 people to the Oratory, and he was "impressed by the presence of the native people from all over Canada."
"I thought the participation would be mainly from the Mohawk nation," he said, "but I've seen people coming from British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia."