The Vatican’s 7 new saints (PHOTOS)
Pope canonizes seven, including first Native American.
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.
Roman Catholic leader Pope Benedict XVI today canonized seven people, among them Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American Indian saint, reported NBC News.
The Pontiff today named seven new saints in an open-air ceremony attended by tens of thousands of people in Saint Peter’s Square, according to Al Jazeera. The event marked the start of the Church's proclaimed "Year of Faith."
France's Jacques Berthieu, Germany's Maria Anna Cope and Maria Schaeffer, the Philippines' Pedro Calungsod, Italy's Giovanni Battista Piamarta and Spain's Maria del Carmen were also recognized by the Holy See today for their "heroic virtue."
Click through gallery to learn more about their lives.