ST. PAUL, ALTA. - Canada’s first Indigenous saint left such an impact on Lily Hunter that she named her newborn daughter after her.

A $21-million shortfall in Catholic fundraising has added another challenge to the task of reconciliation between Canadian churches and Native communities.

As Pope Francis presided at the canonization of St. Junipero Serra I was inside the Museum of the American Indian down on the southern tip of Manhattan Island —– the island purchased from the Canarsee nation in the 17th century with coloured beads.

ROME - The canonization of Blessed Junipero Serra honours a famous missionary who was motivated by love of God, but it also is a call to recognize how the process of evangelization must respect peoples and their cultures, said the head of the Franciscan order.

[Click here to read the 94 recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.]

[Click here to read other articles about the Commission's report.]

OTTAWA - Pope Francis should personally apologize to residential school survivors and their communities, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says in its final report.

TORONTO - Highly acclaimed First Nations playwright Drew Hayden Taylor is bringing a poignant play to Toronto about a dark part of Canadian history.

Despite growing resistance from some Native Americans and U.S. Catholics, the Vatican on May 2 will host an event to celebrate the life of Junípero Serra, the Spanish missionary priest whom Pope Francis plans to canonize during his upcoming American tour.

WASHINGTON - Although the upcoming canonization of Blessed Junipero Serra has stirred mixed reaction, a group of panelists said the ambiguities around the friar should not discount the good work he did or the positive dialogue and reconciliation that could result from his sainthood.

Despite a distressing RCMP report on violence against native women and the recent murder of a female aboriginal teenager, calls for a public inquiry are misguided. Canadians don’t need an expensive, long-winded, politically driven talk-fest on native issues. The facts are already in. It’s time now for leadership and action.