Kateri Tekakwitha, entombed in Quebec, set to become North America’s first female aboriginal saint

MONTREAL - A woman who is credited with several life-saving miracles is set to become North America’s first female aboriginal saint.

Kateri Tekakwitha is to be canonized by the Pope at a Vatican mass on Sunday.

Tekakwitha was born in New York state in 1656 before fleeing to a settlement north of the border to escape opposition to her Christianity.

She died in 1680 at the age of 24.

Tekakwitha’s body is entombed in a marble shrine at the St. Francis-Xavier Church in the Montreal-area Mohawk community of Kahnawake.

Approximately 1,500 Canadian pilgrims are expected to head to the Vatican for the celebrations.