Vatican reviews report of miracle, attributed to Kateri Tekawitha.

A case of a miracle attributed to Kateri Tekawitha, known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” has been sent to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints. If the Vatican declares the miracle credible, Kateri would become the first Native American saint, joining the Roman Catholic Church’s holy honor roll of saints.

Monsignor Paul Lenz, former director of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, confirmed a miracle case file was sent, last month, to the Vatican’s Secretariat for Beatifications and Canonizations. He would not identify the person involved in the reported miracle, nor would he describe the incident he believes to be miraculous.

Most miracles attributed to saints are cures that cannot be explained by science.

“I think it’s an excellent case,” he said, “I wouldn’t have had it sent if I didn’t think so.”

At the Vatican, a medical board, a group of theologians and a group of cardinals and bishops will investigate the case before it is presented to Pope Benedict XVI, for approval.

Brother Andre closer to sainthood.

In separate news, a recent decision by the Vatican has moved Montreal’s Brother Andre a step closer to sainthood. The Theological Commission for the Causes of Saints unanimously accepted the healing powers of Brother Andre, a pious porter at College Notre Dame, who went on to found St. Joseph’s Oratory and who is credited with healing the sick, the lame and the blind. A commission of cardinals and bishops will now study the suitability of extending devotion to Brother Andre throughout the Roman Catholic Church, the final step before the cause for canonization goes to Pope Benedict XVI.. Officials at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal would not speculate on whether the canonization would be held in Montreal or at Vatican City. While the news was welcomed, they said, “an official announcement would be premature.”

If canonized, Brother Andre would become the first Quebec man to be named a saint. Brother Andre was born Alfred Bessette in 1845, the eighth of 12 children to a family in the farming village of St. Gregoire, 50 kilometres southeast of Montreal.

More than one million people filed past his coffin when he died in the winter of 1937, and 10 million have signed the petition calling for his sainthood. It is understood that Brother Andre was never present when a miracle occurred. It always happened after his visit, in which he suggested praying to his patron saint, Saint Joseph. After his death, his preserved heart on display at the oratory was temporarily stolen. During this brief period, a member of the thief’s family was miraculously healed from terminal cancer, and the preserved heart was returned.