A Mohawk woman who lived in the Quebec area more than 300 years ago is set to become the first Native American saint at a ceremony in late October.

Kateri Tekakwitha and six others will be recognized as a saint at the Vatican on Oct. 21, Pope Benedict announced Saturday.

One of the steps to sainthood is performing miracles.

Tekakwitha's spirit is believed to have cured a six-year-old American Indian boy from a flesh eating disease in 2006 after his family prayed to her. Other miracles attributed to the young woman have been approved by Benedict as well.

Tekakwitha, who died in 1680 at age 24, is buried in a church in Kahnawake Que., where she lived so many years ago. Many visit the site to ask for her help.

Kateri Deer told CTV Montreal that she has long believed that Tekakwitha works miracles.

"I used to come and pray here at her tomb. Every time something went wrong I'd come to see blessed Kateri and she always answered my prayers," Deer said.

The process to make Tekakwitha, known as "Lily of the Mohawks," a saint began in 1884. She was declared venerable in 1943 and was beatified by Pope John Paul in 1980.

Small shrines to the young woman are spread across several parts of the United States, including New York and Washington. And hundreds of people are expected to flock to the Vatican for the official canonization ceremony.

A chief from the Mohawk council of Kahnawake, Clinton Phillips, said he believes the ceremony could help bolster the number of Catholics in the Mohawk community. He said the faith isn't as strong as it once was in the native community but he expects this will bring an influx of people into the Catholic Church.

As a teen Tekakwitha, who was scarred by small pox at a young age, was persecuted for her Christian beliefs. She eventually fled from her home in what is now upstate New York to Kahnawake.

It's been said that when she died her scars disappeared, revealing her beauty, and that at her funeral many were healed. An admirer of Tekakwitha, Vera Goodleaf, said the miracles have continued since then.

"She's helped other people in the past. People who have prayed to her, she's cured them of different diseases so we know she's a holy person, she has to be," Goodleaf said.

With files from CTV News Montreal's Camille Ross