St. Kateri Tekakwitha is a prime example of the lowly whom God exalts (Lk 1:52). During her life, she endured misunderstanding, contempt, mockery, and persecution. Today, she is revered and loved as the Lily of the Mohawks.
Christianity
Kateri’s tribe, the Mohawks, were part of the Iroquois nation, none of whom had yet accepted Christianity. In fact, the village of Ossernenon (present-day Auriesville, NY), where Kateri was born in 1656, was where Saint Isaac Jogues had been martyred ten years before. Yet, by God’s Providence, Christ was present in her life from the beginning.
Loss of Her Parents
The daughter of a Mohawk chief and his Christian Algonquin wife, who had been captured in a raid, the little girl spent her first years hearing about Jesus from her mother. But a smallpox outbreak claimed the lives of both parents and left their daughter, then about four, with scars and weakened eyesight. Being called Tekakwitha—“she who bumps into things”—must have hurt.
Tekakwitha was eleven when, due to a treaty between the Iroquois and the French, her people allowed Jesuit missionaries to come. Her relatives viewed the newcomers and their God as hostile intruders, while Tekakwitha longed to hear more of their words. Those who knew her describe her as a modest, quiet, gentle girl, yet her gentleness had nothing to do with weakness or timidity. At eighteen, she spoke to one of the priests, Fr. Jacques de Lamberville, requesting to learn the Faith and receive baptism.
Baptism of St. Kateri
The following Easter, Father baptized her into the Catholic Church. She took the name Kateri, for Saint Catherine of Siena, another virginal soul who made bold choices for Christ. After baptism, Kateri faced a great deal of abuse from her relatives and neighbors, which she faced with both meekness and courage for about six months. At that point, on Fr. de Lamberville’s advice, she fled to a Christian settlement in Canada.
Model of Purity and Love
There she lived her remaining years in increasing piety and penitence, happy to spend herself utterly for the One she loved. In time, Kateri asked to become a nun, but was refused. Yet she maintained, “I can have no spouse but Jesus,” and made a private vow of virginity, an unprecedented choice for a woman in her culture, even among Christians. Thus she is honored today as a patroness of consecrated virgins.
Death and Canonization of Kateri Kekakwitha
Kateri lived only to the age of about twenty-four, but she was ready to meet her Spouse. Her last words were “Jesus, I love you!” She died on Wednesday of Holy Week, April 17, 1680.
Pope John Paul II beatified Kateri on June 24, 1980, calling her “an example of fidelity” and “a model of purity and love.” She was canonized by Pope Benedict on October 21, 2012, the first indigenous person from the U.S. and Canada to be officially recognized as a saint.
What is Saint Kateri the Patron Saint of?
In addition to being invoked as patron saint of Native Americans and ecology, Kateri Tekakwitha is a good friend for orphans and anyone grieving, those harassed for their faith, those encountering obstacles in seeking their vocation, and all who experience rejection or loneliness. For everyone, she is a model and helper for following Christ with patience, courage, and total love. St. Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us!
At the Shrine , pilgrims can find the Saint Kateri Tekawitha devotional area nestled among the trees along the Pilgrim Way. In addition, the altar of the Shrine Church contains a first-class relic of Saint Kateri.
Feast of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
St. Kateri Tekakwitha is a prime example of the lowly whom God exalts (Lk 1:52). During her life, she endured misunderstanding, contempt, mockery, and persecution. Today, she is revered and loved as the Lily of the Mohawks.
Christianity
Kateri’s tribe, the Mohawks, were part of the Iroquois nation, none of whom had yet accepted Christianity. In fact, the village of Ossernenon (present-day Auriesville, NY), where Kateri was born in 1656, was where Saint Isaac Jogues had been martyred ten years before. Yet, by God’s Providence, Christ was present in her life from the beginning.
Loss of Her Parents
The daughter of a Mohawk chief and his Christian Algonquin wife, who had been captured in a raid, the little girl spent her first years hearing about Jesus from her mother. But a smallpox outbreak claimed the lives of both parents and left their daughter, then about four, with scars and weakened eyesight. Being called Tekakwitha—“she who bumps into things”—must have hurt.
Tekakwitha was eleven when, due to a treaty between the Iroquois and the French, her people allowed Jesuit missionaries to come. Her relatives viewed the newcomers and their God as hostile intruders, while Tekakwitha longed to hear more of their words. Those who knew her describe her as a modest, quiet, gentle girl, yet her gentleness had nothing to do with weakness or timidity. At eighteen, she spoke to one of the priests, Fr. Jacques de Lamberville, requesting to learn the Faith and receive baptism.
Baptism of St. Kateri
The following Easter, Father baptized her into the Catholic Church. She took the name Kateri, for Saint Catherine of Siena, another virginal soul who made bold choices for Christ. After baptism, Kateri faced a great deal of abuse from her relatives and neighbors, which she faced with both meekness and courage for about six months. At that point, on Fr. de Lamberville’s advice, she fled to a Christian settlement in Canada.
Model of Purity and Love
There she lived her remaining years in increasing piety and penitence, happy to spend herself utterly for the One she loved. In time, Kateri asked to become a nun, but was refused. Yet she maintained, “I can have no spouse but Jesus,” and made a private vow of virginity, an unprecedented choice for a woman in her culture, even among Christians. Thus she is honored today as a patroness of consecrated virgins.
Death and Canonization of Kateri Kekakwitha
Kateri lived only to the age of about twenty-four, but she was ready to meet her Spouse. Her last words were “Jesus, I love you!” She died on Wednesday of Holy Week, April 17, 1680.
Pope John Paul II beatified Kateri on June 24, 1980, calling her “an example of fidelity” and “a model of purity and love.” She was canonized by Pope Benedict on October 21, 2012, the first indigenous person from the U.S. and Canada to be officially recognized as a saint.
What is Saint Kateri the Patron Saint of?
In addition to being invoked as patron saint of Native Americans and ecology, Kateri Tekakwitha is a good friend for orphans and anyone grieving, those harassed for their faith, those encountering obstacles in seeking their vocation, and all who experience rejection or loneliness. For everyone, she is a model and helper for following Christ with patience, courage, and total love. St. Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us!
At the Shrine , pilgrims can find the Saint Kateri Tekawitha devotional area nestled among the trees along the Pilgrim Way. In addition, the altar of the Shrine Church contains a first-class relic of Saint Kateri.