Pope to canonise American Indian

HIS voice trembling with exhaustion and infirmity, Pope John Paul II told Mexicans yesterday it was "with deep joy" that he would canonise the Roman Catholic Church's first American Indian saint.

Hundreds of thousands of faithful sang, cheered and sobbed along Mexico City streets as John Paul waved to them from his Popemobile.

"Brother John Paul, now you are Mexican," jubilant crowds chanted.

Mexicans have a special affection for John Paul, who chose their country for the first foreign trip of his papacy and has returned on what many expect will be one of his last.

Mexico was the final leg of an 11-day, three-country trip that took the Pope to Toronto for a celebration of Catholic youths from across the world and to Guatemala City, where he canonised a 17th-century missionary who dedicated his life to prisoners, abandoned children and the sick.

The Pope is to canonise Juan Diego, an Indian born before Europeans arrived in the New World. According to tradition, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego in 1531, leaving an olive-skinned image of herself on his cloak and helping drive the conversion of millions of Indians throughout the Americas.

Debate has intensified in recent months over Juan Diego, who some believe never existed. Several Mexican priests unsuccessfully petitioned the Vatican to delay the canonisation because of the doubts.

However, the vast majority of Mexicans tie their national identity to the Virgin of Guadalupe, and to the man to whom she appeared. "This is the first Pope to recognise an Indian, a humble Indian," said Maria Socorro Dominguez, a 48-year-old lawyer among the faithful lining the streets.