WAITING FOR A MIRACLE; FOLLOWERS OF KATERI AWAIT HER CANONIZATION.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

It's been 19 years since Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha attained beatification, but it's uncertain when the 17th-century Mohawk woman would achieve the final step in the canonization process to sainthood.

In the meantime, prayers for her canonization are offered from Catholic churches across America, such as the 2-year-old parish on Copper Hill Drive that now serves 2,100 families, as well as other benevolent organizations named in her honor.

``We have a prayer for her canonization that the bishop wrote,'' said Judy Konieczny, a spokeswoman for the Blessed Kateri Catholic Church in Valencia. ``We'd be really happy if she was recognized in that way, and that all our prayers were answered.''

The American Indian community in Los Angeles established the Kateri Circle, a benevolent organization that holds fund-raisers and performs charities in her name, Konieczny said.

Hundreds of thousands have made pilgrimages to shrines to Kateri erected at both St. Francis Xavier near Montreal and Caughnawaga and at her birthplace at Auriesville, NY., according to the Catholic Online Web site.

Known as the ``Lily of the Mohawks,'' as well as the patroness of the environment and ecology to Catholics, Blessed Kateri's devout following has been responsible for the establishment of Indian ministries in Catholic churches throughout the United States and Canada. She is the first Indian to be declared blessed, according to the Web site.

Those who pray for Blessed Kateri's canonization wait for a miracle.

Since her death in 1680, one verified miracle elevated her to beatification - the second step toward sainthood - in 1980, but Vatican officials require another confirmed miracle to complete her canonization, diocese officials said.

Born in 1656 in Gandahouhague, the territory of the Mohawks that later became upstate New York, she was the daughter of a Mohawk warrior of the Turtle clan and an Algonquin captive.

At age 4, a smallpox epidemic swept her village, killing her parents and infant brother, leaving her face scarred and her eyesight impaired.

After meeting Christian missionaries when she was 20, she converted to Catholicism against the wishes of her aunts and uncles, as well as her entire village. A year later, she fled to the St. Francis Xavier Mission outside Montreal and dedicated her life to teaching prayer and helping the sick.

Catholics believe that Blessed Kateri died at 3 p.m. April 17, 1680, at the age of 24 following a brief illness during Holy Week. Her last words, spoken in her native language, were ``Jesus, I love you.''

Fifteen minutes after her death, two Jesuit missionaries and other Indians at her deathbed reported seeing the smallpox scars across her face suddenly disappear.

Pope Pius XII declared the Blessed Kateri venerable on Jan. 3, 1943; she was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 30, 1980, and given the title of ``blessed,'' the second step toward canonization, when Vatican officials verified her scars had disappeared.

It's not known how long it will take the Blessed Kateri to be named a saint, or if she ever will be canonized, church officials said.

``There are people who get the status of blessed for centuries,'' said the Rev. Gregory Coiro, director of Media Relations for the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

He later added, ``Then again, we're seeing canonizations taking place every few weeks now. This pope (Pope John Paul II) has canonized more saints than there had been in the entire century.''

With the exception of martyrs - who don't require miracles to achieve sainthood - the canonization process is an exhaustive process in which church officials must investigate whether a person led a ``virtuous life to a heroic degree.''

To even be considered for canonization, the candidate must have been dead for at least five years.

The investigation begins at the local level, with a diocese or archdiocese gathering as much information as possible about the person.

Everything the candidate has written or said publicly is scrutinized, to determine whether he or she led a virtuous life to a heroic degree. If a bishop feels he or she did lead such a life, the archdiocese nominates the person to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican in Rome.

Cardinals in the congregation then begin the process anew, conducting interviews and reviewing all writings and speeches.

If the Congregation for the Causes of Saints concurs that the person led a virtuous life to a heroic degree, the pope may declare that person ``venerable,'' the first official recognition in the canonization process.

Beatification, the next step, requires one confirmed miracle.

In the Blessed Kateri's case, the Vatican found that her disappearing scars had occurred beyond medical explanation.

``For beatification, you need ratification from God that the person can intercede and answer prayer,'' explained the Rev. Coiro. ``Usually, that's in the form of a miracle, often a physical cure to an incurable disease. . .in a manner beyond medical science and naturally inexplicable.''

The miracles can take place posthumously if prayers to the deceased have been answered with a miraculous event. People write to the Vatican often to report miracles they believe resulted from prayer to a candidate for sainthood.

Once the Congregation for the Causes of Saints determines a second miracle has occurred, the cardinals present a proclamation to the pope for his approval in the form of an infallible papal proclamation. The pope's proclamation is celebrated in a Mass of Canonization.

The pope has the authority to dispense the need for the second miracle, as well as override the five-year waiting period to begin a canonization investigation.

``I'm sure right now, it's just a matter of waiting for a second miracle,'' said the Rev. Coiro of the Blessed Kateri's canonization. Hundreds - perhaps thousands - of candidates currently may be under consideration for canonization, he later added.

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Photo: (color) The Rev. Mike Slattery of the Blessed Kateri Catholic Church in Valencia is hopeful for the Blessed Kateri's canonization.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News