Will the Upper Peninsula’s “Snowshoe Priest” Be Named a Saint?
In 1830 Frederic Baraga came to North America from Slovenia and started ministering to the Chippewa and Ottawa tribes and the immigrants who came to mine iron and copper in the Upper Peninsula. He traveled by foot and canoe in the summer and by snowshoe in the winter, which earned him the name "the Snowshoe Priest". He became the first Bishop of the Marquette Diocese and had Baraga County named after him. And now he might become a saint.
According to Great Lakes Echo, the process has already started to have him named a saint. The Vatican is currently investigating a possible miracle attributed to Bishop Baraga, which would bring his sainthood a step closer. It's a long process, but it seems there's optimism about it happening - at least up in the U.P., where more people are already visiting due to an interest in Baraga.
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