The Canonization of Katharine Drexel airs live October 1 on WHYY-TV.

When Lillian Paulmier first heard of Katharine Drexel ten years ago, she thought the story of the Philadelphia socialite who became a nun and activist for social justice was intriguing -- so much that she began work on Blessed Mother Katharine Drexel, an award-winning program that first aired on WHYY in 1991.

She never dreamed that her work on that program would lead -- quite literally -- to a miracle.

"I always knew that television and radio were powerful mediums. But to know that someone saw this (Blessed Mother) on WHYY -- to know that something I did lead to this as a result -- it gives me the chills," Paulmier says.

Now, as the Roman Catholic Church readies to canonize Katharine Drexel as a Saint, Paulmier and WHYY executive producer Trudi Brown are updating the original program. The Canonization of Katharine Drexel will debut nationwide on October 1, the same day as Katharine Drexel's canonization.

The original program -- one of WHYY's most popular -- recounts the heiress' life, her conversion to a Roman Catholic nun, her crusade to improve the lives of underprivileged African American and Native American people across the country and the story of her first "intercession," an event decreed by the Catholic Church to be miraculous and the first step to becoming a Saint. The Canonization picks up where the original production leaves off, following her progress to sainthood. It will also include highlights from the ceremony in Rome, as well as the story of the second intercession that began, in a sense, with Paulmier's program.

To order your copy of The Canonazation of Katherine Drexel, click here.

Katharine Drexel who died in 1955, was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988 after decreeing that the hearing of a deaf teenage boy from Bensalem, PA had been restored because of his family's prayers to her. In 1995, the Wall family, also of Bensalem, saw a repeat airing of Blessed Mother on WHYY-TV. Their young daughter, Amanda, was also deaf. Though they had never heard of "Mother Katharine" before seeing that program, Amanda's parents decided to pray to her. They did not pray for Amanda's hearing to be restored. Rather, they simply wanted help to communicate with their daughter.

"They're just regular people. They just wanted to be a family," Paulmier says of the Walls. "They weren't asking for a miracle." However, almost immediately, Amanda's family and preschool teachers noticed a change. The young girl had her hearing tested, and the results came back normal. Extensive subsequent investigations have found no known medical reason for the restoration of Amanda Wall's hearing. That event provided the second "intercession" required by the Catholic Church to canonize Katharine Drexel as a Saint.

Although Paulmier has not found anything in her research to indicate why both intercessions attributed to Katharine Drexel are related to hearing, she says the nuns of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament -- the order founded by Katharine Drexel and headquartered in Bensalem -- believe the healings are related to her cause.

"They believe that social justice is still needed today. I think, in a way, the healings are Katharine's way of getting her message out. Hopefully, her canonization will mark the beginning of a change toward true social justice," Paulmier says.

The ceremony in Rome will air live on Sunday, October 1 at 3 a.m. on WHYY-TV. The Canonization of Katharine Drexel airs later that day at 10 a.m., 4 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.