Summary

AP-APTN-0930: Vatican Saint Saturday, 20 October 2012 STORY:Vatican Saint- +4:3 Kateri Tekakwitha to become first Native American saint in ceremony on Sunday LENGTH: 02:51 FIRST RUN: 0330 RESTRICTIONS: See Script TYPE: English/Natsound SOURCE: AP TELEVISION/KOMO TV STORY NUMBER: 863648 DATELINE: Various/FILE LENGTH: 02:51 SHOTLIST: AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Rome - 19 October 2012 ++16:9++ 1 Wide of St Peter's Square 2 Mid of tapestry hanging in Vatican with painting of Kateri Tekakwitha on it 3 Mid of Finkbonner family walking KOMO-TV- AP CLIENTS ONLY FILE: Date and location unknown ++4:3++ 4 Home video footage of Jake Finkbonner before incident which saw him attacked by skin-eating bacteria 5 STILL of of Jake before incident AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Rome - 18 October 2012 ++16:9++ 6 SOUNDBITE (English) Jake Finkbonner, Twelve-year-old boy from Washington state, USA: When my face hit the support bar on the basketball hoop, where it cut my lip open, and the infection entered through there 7 Close of Jake's hands 8 SOUNDBITE (English) Elsa Finkbonner, Jake's mother: I think it was Wednesday when Father Tim was able to come down and offer Jake his last rites, and it was at that time that Father Tim suggested that we pray for Blessed Kateri's intercession, that she too was of Native-American descent and that she was infected with smallpox And so, it started immediately, within his first two days that he was there, that we began to pray for her intercession 9 STILL of painting of Kateri Tekakwitha 10 Pan of Elsa, Jake and Don Finkbonner and Father Tim Sauer 11 SOUNDBITE (English) Father Tim Sauer, Parish priest, former priest on the Lummi Reservation: I believe that if a miracle could be attributed successfully to Kateri's intercession, it would be a wonderful boost of faith for Native-American Catholics all over North America 12 Close of painting of Kateri Tekakwitha KOMO-TV - AP CLIENTS ONLY FILE: December 20, 2011, unknown location ++16:9++ 13 SOUNDBITE (English) Jake Finkbonner, Twelve-year-old boy from Washington state, USA: It makes me feel like I am doing something for God, bringing more people back into his community AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Vatican City - 17 October 2012 ++16:9++ 14 Mid of Swiss Guards with Pope in background in St Peter's Square 15 Canadian pilgrims attending canonisation of Kateri Tekakwitha 16 SOUNDBITE (English) Garfield Barlow, Pilgrim from Indian Island First Nation, New Brunswick, Canada: We're here for the canonisation of an Indian lady that is on her way to becoming a saint She's been waiting to become a saint almost 400 years, and now I think, I'm pretty sure, it's the first Indian lady from Canada or North America to become a saint So it's a very proud day for us 17 Close of medal with face of Kateri Tekakwitha pinned to shirt of a pilgrim 18 SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Copage, Pilgrim from Elsipogtog First Nation, New Brunswick, Canada: And we have been praying to her for too long and now she is a saint, that's why we're here 19 Wide of tapestries of new saints hanging on side of St Peter's Basilica 20 SOUNDBITE (English) Cindy Ginnish, Eel Ground First Nation, New Brunswick, Canada: This is our very first saint You know, she was a Mohawk, you know, that lived in 1600s 21 Mid of Canadian pilgrims attending canonisation of Kateri Tekakwitha 22 Wide pan of St Peter's Basilica STORYLINE: Twelve-year-old Jake Finkbonner sits on a roof-top terrace near the Vatican between his two parents, stifling a yawn as they recount his story one more time It has been a long, painful journey that has brought him to the centre of the Catholic world Jake has undergone 29 operations since he was attacked by a skin-eating bacteria As he explains, he was five-years-old when he took a tumble playing basketball, and hit his mouth at the base of the hoop What is known as a strep A - or flesh-eating bacteria - entered his body His mother Elsa says that just a few days later a priest was called in to give him his last rites at the Children's Hospital in Seattle His family thought it was the end Jake is of Native-American descent, from the Lummi Nation, a group of Native Americans based in Washington state The priest called in to give the last rites was Father Tim Sauer, who proudly stands near Jake and his family in Rome Sauer was the priest on the Lummi Reservation, and Jake's parents were of Lummi descent Father Tim decided to urge the family, friends and members of the parish to pray to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha for his recovery One nun, Sister Kateri Mitchell, even brought a relic of Tekakwitha and held it over Jake's leg and prayed for Kateri's intercession to save Jake Jake survived and his case was chosen by the Vatican as the second miracle needed to raise Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha to sainthood Jake has come to Rome with his family to take part in the Vatican ceremony on Sunday that will make Kateri Takakwitha a saint Father Tim Sauer believes this canonisation will give a huge boost to Native American Catholics Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in what is now upstate New York to a Mohawk father and an Algonquin mother When she was four-years-old, smallpox ravaged her village, killing her parents and brother Kateri survived but was covered with scars and left nearly blind The tribe began calling her Tekakwitha meaning she who bumps into things Through contacts with Jesuit missionaries in the area, Kateri became a Christian When her uncle organised a marriage for her to an Iroquois man, Kateri chose to flee her village and headed north, joining a Native-American Christian community called Kahnawake in Canada rather than marry In Kahnawake, Kateri made a vow of chastity and dedicated herself to helping the elderly, the sick and working with children She spent long hours in prayer and penance on her knees outside, despite the bitter cold She became ill at age 24 and died of exposure The Jesuits, who kept records of her life, say immediately after her death all the pockmarks on her body disappeared Following her death, Native Americans and settlers began praying for her intercession and Kateri was credited with physical healings and divine acts In the 1880s Catholics began pushing the Vatican to make her a saint For someone to become a saint, the Vatican must have proof of a miracle attributed to that person Jake Finkbonner has provided that miracle Jake himself takes a very realistic view on the issue, noting on his website: Please don't confuse the issue which is that my survival is a miracle We thank the doctors at Children's Hospital for all that they did to save my life I wouldn't be here without them I also thank all the people that prayed for me Obviously, God heard their prayers This decision to canonise Blessed Kateri is something that the Vatican and the Pope declared, based on testimonies given by parishioners, my family and my doctors Native Americans from across North America have begun arriving in Rome to be a part of Sunday's canonisation ceremony They were distinguishable by their T-shirts with a Indian woman with two braids as they wandered around the Vatican A group of Native-Americans from Canada's First Nations of New Brunswick, Canada Cindy Ginnish of Eel Ground First Nation in New Brunswick told the AP that this event is huge for their community because she is our first saint Garfield Barlow of Indian Island First Nation in New Brunswick said: She's been waiting to become a saint almost 400 years and now so it's a very proud day for us Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: infoaparchivecom (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory APTN AP-WF-10-20-12 1023GMT