Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha or
Blessed Catherine Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk; 1656 – April 17, 1680), the daughter of a
MohawkMohawk" are an indigenous people of North America originally from the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York to southern Quebec and eastern Ontario. Their current settlements include areas around Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River in Canada...
warrior and a Catholic
AlgonquinThe Algonquins are aboriginal/First Nations inhabitants of North American who speak Algonquin. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa and Ojibwe, with whom they form the larger Anicinàpe grouping...
woman, was born in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon near present-day
Auriesville, New YorkAuriesville is a hamlet in the northeastern part of the town of Glen in Montgomery County, New York, United States, along the south bank of the Mohawk River. It lies north of the New York City area and about forty miles west of Albany, the state capital...
. When she was four,
smallpoxSmallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple"...
swept through Ossernenon, and Tekakwitha was left with unsightly scars on her face and poor eyesight. The outbreak took the lives of her brother and both her parents.
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha or
Blessed Catherine Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk; 1656 – April 17, 1680), the daughter of a
MohawkMohawk" are an indigenous people of North America originally from the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York to southern Quebec and eastern Ontario. Their current settlements include areas around Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River in Canada...
warrior and a Catholic
AlgonquinThe Algonquins are aboriginal/First Nations inhabitants of North American who speak Algonquin. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa and Ojibwe, with whom they form the larger Anicinàpe grouping...
woman, was born in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon near present-day
Auriesville, New YorkAuriesville is a hamlet in the northeastern part of the town of Glen in Montgomery County, New York, United States, along the south bank of the Mohawk River. It lies north of the New York City area and about forty miles west of Albany, the state capital...
. When she was four,
smallpoxSmallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple"...
swept through Ossernenon, and Tekakwitha was left with unsightly scars on her face and poor eyesight. The outbreak took the lives of her brother and both her parents. She was then adopted by her uncle, who was a chief of the Turtle-clan. As the adopted daughter of the chief, she was courted by many of the warriors looking for her hand in marriage.
However, during this time she began taking interest in Christianity, which was taught to her by her mother.
In 1666,
Alexandre de ProuvilleMarquis Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy was a French aristocrat, statesman, and military leader. He was the seigneur of Tracy-le-Val and Tracy-le-Mont...
burned down Ossernenon. Kateri's clan then settled on the north side of the
Mohawk RiverThe Mohawk River is a long river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital Region, a few miles north of the city of Albany, New York. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
, near what is now
Fonda, New YorkFonda is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 810 at the 2000 census. Fonda is the county seat of Montgomery County...
. While living here, at the age of 20, Tekakwitha was baptized on Easter Sunday, April 18, 1676 by Father
Jacques de LambervilleJacques de Lamberville was a Jesuit missionary and the younger brother of Jean de Lamberville, also a missionary. He came to New France from France at the age of 34 and became part of the Iroquois missions. There, his most famous convert was Kateri Tekakwitha.- External links :*...
, a Jesuit. At her baptism, she took the name
"Kateri," a
MohawkMohawk is a Native American language spoken by the Mohawk nation in the United States and Canada. It is part of the Iroquoian family. In schools of northern New York particularly in Native American Reservations Native American Languages are taught depending on the tribe in the...
pronunciation of the
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
name
"Catherine". Tekakwitha literally means "she moves things." :D
Unable to understand her zeal, members of the tribe often chastised her, which she took as a testament to her faith. Kateri exercised physical mortification as a route to sanctity. She would occassionally put thorns upon her mat and lay on them,all the while praying for the conversion and forgiveness of her kinsmen. She discontinued this practice when her close friend, Marie Therese, and her confessor expressed their disapproval. Because she was persecuted by her Native American kin, which even resulted in threats on her life, she fled to an established community of Native American Christians located in Kahnawake, Quebec, where she lived a life dedicated to prayer, penance, and care for the sick and aged. In 1679, she took a vow of
chastityChastity is sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the ethical norms and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion.In the western world, the term has become closely associated with sexual abstinence, especially before marriage...
, as in the Catholic expression of
Consecrated virginIn the Catholic Church a consecrated virgin is a woman who has dedicated herself to a life of virginity or perpetual chastity in the service of God and the Church in a form that is recognised by the Church. Men who have dedicated their virginity or perpetual chastity to God in this way tend to be...
ity. A year later, on April 17, 1680, Kateri died at the age of 24, with her last words being, "Jesus, I love You!"
She is called
"The Lily of the Mohawks," the
"Mohawk Maiden," the
"Pure and Tender Lily," and the
"Fairest Flower among True Men." the "Lily of Purity" and "The New Star of the New World". According to Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik's "Kateri of the Mohawks", her tribal neighbors called her "the fairest flower that ever bloomed among the redmen."
Veneration
According to eyewitness accounts, Kateri's scars vanished at the time of her death revealing a woman of immense beauty. It has been claimed that at her funeral many of the ill who attended were healed on that day. It is also held that she appeared to two different individuals in the weeks following her death.
The process for her
canonizationCanonization is the act by which a particular Christian church or group declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints...
began in 1884. She was declared
VenerableThe Venerable is used as a style or epithet in several Christian churches. It is also the common English language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.-Roman Catholic:...
by
Pope Pius XIIPope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as the 260th Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
on January 3, 1943. She was later beatified on June 22, 1980 by
Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła served as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate; only Pope Pius IX served longer...
, and as such she is properly referred to as
BlessedBeatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's accession to Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Kateri Tekakwitha within the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
. She is the first
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
to be so honored, and as such she holds a special place of devotion among the Native/Aboriginal Catholics of North America. Devotion to Blessed Kateri is clearly manifest in at least three national shrines in the United States alone, including the National Kateri Shrine in
Fonda, New YorkFonda is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 810 at the 2000 census. Fonda is the county seat of Montgomery County...
, the
National Shrine of the North American MartyrsThe National Shrine of the North American Martyrs, also dedicated as the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs, is a Roman Catholic shrine in Auriesville, New York dedicated to the Jesuit missionaries who were martyred at the Mohawk Indian village of Ossernenon between 1642 and 1646. St. Rene Goupil, a...
in
Auriesville, New YorkAuriesville is a hamlet in the northeastern part of the town of Glen in Montgomery County, New York, United States, along the south bank of the Mohawk River. It lies north of the New York City area and about forty miles west of Albany, the state capital...
, and the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate ConceptionThe Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a prominent Roman Catholic basilica located in Washington, D.C., honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Patroness of the United States...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
. Likewise, she has been commemorated by a statue on the outside of the
Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-BeaupréThe Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré is a basilica set along the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, 30 kilometres east of Quebec City. It has been credited by the Roman Catholic Church with many miracles of curing the sick and disabled. It is an important Catholic sanctuary which receives about a...
in Quebec. In 2007, Blessed Kateri was featured along with
Blessed Junipero SerraFray Junípero Serra was a Spanish Franciscan friar who founded the mission chain in Alta California. Fr. Serra was beatified by John Paul II on September 25, 1988.-History:Junípero Serra was born Miquel Josep Serra i Ferrer in Petra, Majorca, Spain...
, Saint Joseph, and
Saint Francis of AssisiSaint Francis of Assisi was a Catholic deacon and the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans....
in the Grand
RetabloRetablo is a term for a Latin American devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art...
, a newly installed work by Spanish artisans standing over forty feet high behind the main altar of the
Mission Basilica San Juan CapistranoMission Basilica San Juan Capistrano is Catholic a minor basilica church in the city of San Juan Capistrano, California, in the Diocese of Orange. Built in 1984, just north and west of historical Mission San Juan Capistrano, the church's design is patterned after the Mission's old stone church...
in
Orange County, CaliforniaOrange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,846,293, though a July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759, making it the second most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and...
.
A larger-than-life-size bronze statue of Blessed Kateri depicting the Saint kneeling in prayer, installed in 2008 and created by artist
Cynthia Hitschler is featured along the devotional walkway leading to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral, La Crosse, WI.
The final step in the
canonizationCanonization is the act by which a particular Christian church or group declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints...
process is awaiting a verified miracle. Blessed Kateri's feast day in the United States is celebrated on July 14. Kateri was for some time after her death considered an honorary (though unofficial) patroness of
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and
Native AmericansThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
. Fifty years after her death a Convent for Native American nuns was opened in Mexico, whose residents pray daily for her canonization.
The following churches have been named in her honor:
- Kateri Tekakwitha Roman Catholic Church in Peshawbestown, Michigan
Peshawbestown is an unincorporated community in Suttons Bay Township of Leelanau in the U.S. state of Michigan. In historical documents, the name is spelled variously as Peshabetown, Peshabatown, Pshawbatown, Preshabestown....
, on the Grand Traverse (Band of Ottawa & Chippewa) Indian Reservation
- Blessed Kateri Tekawitha Roman Catholic Church in LaGrangeville, New York.
- Blessed Kateri Tekawitha Roman Catholic Church in Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States and the twenty-sixth largest city in the State of California. The California Department of Finance estimated the city population as of January 1, 2009 at 177,150. Including unincorporated areas of the Santa...
- Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Community of Poquoson & Tabb, in Tabb, Virginia
Tabb is an unincorporated community in York County, Virginia, United States, on the Virginia Peninsula. Major roads include U.S. Route 17 and State Route 134 ....
- Church of the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, located in Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Church of Gichitwaa Kateri in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Hennepin County. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. Known as the Twin Cities,...
- Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church in Exeter, Rhode Island
Exeter is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. Exeter extends east from the Connecticut border to the town of North Kingstown. It is bordered to the north by West Greenwich and East Greenwich, and to the south by Hopkinton, Richmond and South Kingstown. Exeter's postal code...
Camp Tekakwitha is a french-speaking summer camp in Maine, named in her honor.
In literature
Kateri Tekakwitha figures prominently as a character in fiction by
Leonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, CC, GOQ is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often deals with the exploration of religion, isolation, sexuality and complex interpersonal relationships...
(
Beautiful LosersBeautiful Losers is a novel by Leonard Cohen. Published in 1966 by McClelland and Stewart, it was the Canadian novelist-poet's second novel, and precedes his career as a singer-songwriter...
), Alice Fulton- Biography :Fulton was born and raised in Troy, New York, the youngest of three daughters. Her father was the proprietor of the historic Phoenix Hotel, and her mother was a visiting nurse. She began writing poetry in high school. In 1979, she attended a women's poetry conference in Amherst, Mass.,...
("Happy Dust" in The Nightingales of Troy
) and William Vollmann (Fathers and Crows
).
Nancy Shoemaker's article "Kateri Tekakwitha's Tortuous Path to Sainthood," from Negotiators of Change: Historical Perspectives on Native American Women, links Tekakwitha's role with the history of women in North America.
Allan Greer's "Mohawk Saint: Catherine Tekakwitha and the Jesuits." Oxford University Press
Canonization prayer
O God, who, amongst the many marvels of Thy Grace in the New World, didst cause to blossom on the banks of the Mohawk and of the St Lawrence, the pure and tender Lily, Kateri Tekakwitha, grant we beseech Thee, the favor we beg through her intercession, that this Young Lover of Jesus and of His Cross may soon be counted among the Saints of Holy Mother Church, and that our hearts may be enkindled with a stronger desire to imitate her innocence and faith. Through the same Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us.
- IMPRIMATUR:
- Most Rev. Bernard Hubert, Bishop of Saint Jean de Québec
- Most Rev. Howard J. Hubbard, Bishop of Albany, New York
See also
- Roman Catholicism in the United States#American Catholic Servants of God, Venerables, Beatified, and Saints
- "Consecrated Life" - Catechism of the Catholic Church
- New Monasticism
New Monasticism, or Neomonasticism, is a modern day iteration of a long tradition of Christian monasticism that has recently developed within certain Christian communities.-Origins:The origin of the new monastic movement is difficult to pinpoint...
- Catherine of Siena
Saint Catherine of Siena, O.P. was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the Papacy back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. She was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1970...
after whom Bl. Kateri took her name.
External links