Big Party in Heaven Today

Only portrait from life of St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

Today is a great day. Today is the day the Pope canonized Kateri Tekakwitha. Words cannot express...

Congratulations to all my fellow Canadians. And Americans, for she is also their saint. I grew up with her, and she has always been a special friend of mine. Her feast day is my birthday.

St. Pedro Calungsod

Congratulations too to all Visayans and Filipinos on the concurrent canonization of Pedro Calungsod. My wife is Visayan. St. Pedro holds a special place in Visayan hearts very similar to the place St. Kateri holds in Canadian hearts.

The sad thing is that this is not bigger news in Canada.

I naturally feel some special ties too to Saint Marianne Cope of Molokai, also canonized today. She is from Syracuse, N.Y., where I went to grad school; and my daughter's name, coincidentally, is Maryanne. I found some wonderful photos of her at Wikipedia.

Saint Marianne Cope.

At the funeral of St. Damien.