Pope Benedict XVI was to have canonized seven saints in an Oct. 21 ceremony in St. Peter’s Square.

The seven are:

St. Kateri Tekakwitha (ca. 1656-1680), the Mohawk Indian convert and the first American Indian to be canonized,

St. Marianne Cope (1838-1918), a German sister who, along with St. Damien of Molokai, ministered to the lepers of Hawaii,

St. Pedro Calungsod (ca. 1654-1672), a Filipino lay catechist and martyr,

St. Anna Schaeffer (1882-1925), a German lay woman,

St. Giovanni Battista Piamarta (1841-1913), an Italian priest,

St. Jacques Berthieu (1838-1896), a French Jesuit missionary who was martyred in Madagascar, and

St. Maria del Carmen (1848-1911), the Spanish foundress of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching.

More information wasn’t available at press time. However, the Register will have complete coverage in our next issue and online at NCRegister.com.