St. Kateri Tekakwitha

St. Kateri Tekakwitha

On October 21, 2012, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha will be canonized by Pope Benedict.  Kateri was born in the Native American village of Ossernenon (near Schenectady, New York) in the mid-17th century; her father was a Mohawk warrior, her mother, a Roman Catholic Algonquin.  Afflicted by smallpox, the disease which killed her parents and brother, Kateri bore the scars of the disease all her life. She converted to Catholicism as a teenager and was baptized at age 20, much to the dismay of many members of her tribe.  Dedicated to the faith, she left her village to join a Jesuit mission village near Montreal, Canada, where she devoted her life to care of the sick and the elderly.  She was also known for her chastity, and is said to have put thorns on her sleeping mat, lying on them while praying for the conversion of her kinsmen.  She died at age 24, and has long been known as the "Lily of the Mohawks," a traditional symbol of purity and chastity. She will be the first female Native American saint; her feast day is July 14.

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