Bishops Approve Canonical Step for Sainthood Cause for
Lakota Catechist
November 14, 2017
BALTIMORE—The U.S. Bishops have approved by voice vote
the canonical consultation of canonization for a Lakota Catechist at their
annual fall General Assembly in Baltimore. Sought by Bishop Robert D. Gruss of
Rapid City, South Dakota, the voice vote is in keeping with the Episcopal
consultation process as a step in the Catholic Church’s process toward
declaring a person a saint.
Nicholas W. Black Elk, Sr., was born into the Oglala
Lakota Tribe in 1863 in Wyoming. The fourth generation to be named Black Elk,
he was third in succeeding his father and grandfather as a prominent medicine
man. In 1885, he learned about St. Kateri Tekakwitha and signed
the petition supporting the cause of her canonization. In 1904, he met a Jesuit
priest who invited him to study Christianity at Holy Rosary Mission near Pine
Ridge, SD. On December 6, on the Feast of St.
Nicholas, he was baptized Nicolas William. In 1907, the Jesuits appointed
him a catechist because of his love for Christ, his enthusiasm and his
excellent memory for learning scripture and Church teachings. During the second
half of his life, he traveled widely to various reservations, peaching, sharing
stories, and teaching the Catholic faith. He is attributed to having 400
Native American people baptized.
On March 14, 2016, a petition with over 1,600 signatures
to begin the cause for canonization was presented to Bishop Gruss by the
Nicholas Black Elk family.
More information on the sainthood process is available
at: http://www.usccb.org/about/public-affairs/backgrounders/saints-backgrounder.cfm.
Interested in learning more?
New! Read about Black Elk from "America: The Jesuit Review"
Read about the life of Nicholas Black Elk
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