Boy's survival of flesh-eating bacteria declared a miracle (headline shortened)

An 11-year-old boy's survival from a near-fatal battle with a flesh-eating bacteria has been declared a miracle by the Vatican.

Jake Finkbonner, of Ferndale, Washington, made a stunning recovery from a tissue-destroying disease that gnawed away at his young face and nearly took his life in 2006.

Pope Benedict XVI attributed the miracle attribute to The Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, clearing the way for the 17th century Mohawk-Algonquin woman to become the first American-Indian saint.

She could be canonised as early as February, becoming America's first indigenous saint.

Mrs Finkbonner told MSNBC her son, meanwhile, is 'doing fantastic' and is playing basketball again.

The mother told MailOnline it was 'unexplainable' how Jake survived his illness.

And while she said even doctors are baffled as to Jake's recovery, the family does not discredit the intervention of medical technology they say was essential to his survival.

In an email to MailOnline, Mrs Finkbonner wrote: 'We do not discredit the doctors who helped our son. We know that without them, our son would not have survived. 'This investigation took place by an panel of priests, doctors and lawyers from the Catholic church. They interviewed us along with the doctors who treated Jake,' she added.

'These are the same doctors who have stated that they could not explain why Jake lived. They did everything humanly possible for him and can not explain why he survived."

Praised be His Glorious Name.

I remember reading about Ketari when I was a child. My dear mother had enrolled me in a book club series about saints/revered figures in the church when I was about 8.

Two titles that just popped into my head:
Father Damien and the Bells
Lydia Longley, First American Nun

There is a Shrine in Indian River Michigan that has the largest outside wooden cross and a sculpted Christ. When it first opened in the 1950's it was dedicated to this blessed woman...later the name was changed I believe..My parents had a cottage on Mullet lake and Indian River was the closes town. It started out as a mission church. The cross is on a hill and there are steps leading to the base of the cross and you can go up the steps saying the rosary..There use to be first class relics in each step but I think they have since been removed.

You can google the Shrine in Indian River and it gives you the whole history of it...also had stations of the cross in a walk through the woods. They hold Sunday Mass outside at the foot of the cross on good weather days....

I think you would enjoy reading about it...GG My sister and her family came up for a couple of weeks and she had a movie camera...(this would have been in the last 50's) and she took movies of the inside of the little church which had been renovated larger to accommodate the large amount of summer tourist that attended Mass...

We were all shocked when she got the film developed...It was a sunny day and the chapel (church) was well lit, but around the statue of Mary and the Tabernackle was a golden aura. Not on the alter or any other part of the sanctuary. (I think St Joseph might has had such an aura but am not too sure of that) The golden aura was crystal clean and you could see through it...But only the statue and the tabernacle had it..emanated out about 2 feet from the 2 articles...

But you won't read about the movie my sister took, it was never given to the church and she has since passed away and I always wondered if the film was still with the family. But doubt it...I don't remember the mm of the camera, but as I think about it now it would have been great to donate to the Shrine....Sister lived in Maryland not Michigan..

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