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| Portrait of Kateri Tekakwitha |
As a convert to Catholicism, I have to admit that I haven’t felt drawn to many saints. Perhaps it is my Protestant background that taught me that we only need to pray to what I affectionately like to think of as “The Big Three”…Father, Son and Holy Spirit. During my conversion, which took place largely at LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro MA, I discovered the presence of Our Blessed Mother and I learned that she had been a mother to me long before I ever came to know or believe in her. But I honestly have to admit that I really didn’t pursue an interest in saints beyond that.
However, I recently learned about Kateri Tekakwitha and she has captured my mind, my heart and my imagination. Perhaps it is because my great grandmother on my father’s side was a Native American and, because of that, I have always felt a kinship with Native Americans. Perhaps it is because she is a woman (you go girl). Perhaps, it is because I perceive her as being different from many of the other saints in that she never became a nun nor did she really advance or become established within the traditional church like St. Therese or St Bernadette Soubrious or St Faustina. In fact, because she was a Native American, she was prevented from joining any kind of religious organization and was prevented from learning all that she could about Catholicism. Yet, in spite of these and many other obstacles, her simple faith and deep abiding love of Christ has brought her to the point where she will be canonized on October 21, 2012.
Kateri Tekakwitha (pronounced “gaderi dega’wita” in the language of the Mohawks) was originally known as Catherine Tekakwitha. Her baptismal name was Catherine after Catherine of Sienna. It is thought that the name Catherine was chosen because it was easy for the Mohawks to pronounce. Today, she is known by the Indian version of Catherine which is Kateri. Also, because of her chastity and her choice to be espoused to Christ, she is known as the Lily of the Mohawks.
Her mother was an Algonquin Indian and a devout Catholic who married a Mohawk chief. Kateri was born in 1656. Her exact date of birth is unknown. She was born in a village close to Ossernenon near present day Auriesville in upstate New York. When she was about four years old, her village was hit with small pox. Both her parents and all of her siblings were killed in the epidemic. Kateri survived, but her eyesight was seriously damaged and her face was terribly scarred and disfigured by the disease. It is thought that Kateri was given the name Tekakwitha which means “she who bumps into things” because of her faulty eyesight. After that, she was taken in by two aunts and an uncle who was the chief of the Turtle Clan that Kateri belonged to.
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| Oldest Portrait of Kateri circa 1690 |
In 1667, Kateri had her first encounter with the Jesuit priests who were to have a strong impact on her life. They had entered the village where she lived in order to work out a peace treaty with the Iroquois. They began to teach the villagers about Jesus and Christianity. Her uncle was strongly opposed Christianity and forbade her to have any contact with the Jesuits. However, Kateri was enthralled with their teachings and attended Catechism in spite of her uncle’s resistance. In April of 1676, her friend and teacher, Fr Lamberville, baptized her on Easter Sunday. After that, Kateri suffered a great deal of rejection and abuse from her clan because of her faith. Six months later, at the age of 20, she left the village and moved to a Jesuit mission where she lived for the few remaining years of her life.
Kateri loved the Eucharist and would spend hours kneeling in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. During these times, the people in the chapel would draw close to her because they said her face changed, became beautiful and full of peace. They also reported that they felt close to God when Kateri prayed. One of her favorite devotions was to make little crosses out of sticks and to place them in the forest. They served as stations to remind herself to take a moment to pray. When she was unable to go to the chapel, she would make her own chapel by carving a cross into a tree and praying before it.
Encouraged by a sister in the faith, Marie-Therese Tegaiaguenta, Kateri practiced mortification of the flesh and severe penances. These included self-flagellation, cutting, sleeping on a bed of thorns, burning herself with hot coals and prolonged fasting. Her spiritual director and the Jesuits in general, tried to discourage these practices, but Kateri and Marie-Therese persisted in offering these sacrifices for their sins and the sins of their people. When the Jesuits denied the two women the permission to form a convent for Native Americans, they formed an unofficial group of lay women who dedicated themselves to Christ.
Kateri had been pressured by her clan and later by some of the people in the mission to get married. Finally, her spiritual director, Fr. Cholenec, asked her what she truly wanted. Her response was: “I have deliberated enough. For a long time, my decision on what I will do has been made. I have consecrated myself entirely to Jesus, son of Mary. I have chosen Him for a husband and He alone will take me for a wife.” Therefore, in 1679, Kateri took a vow of perpetual virginity.
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| Icon of St Kateri Tekakwitha |
The poor health she suffered all her life, exacerbated by the severe penances she practiced, finally led to her death in 1680 at the age of 24. Her final words were: “Jesus, I love you.” Shortly after she died the scars which had disfigured her face so terribly for most of her life disappeared completely and her face became beautiful and her skin completely smooth. This is considered to be the first miracle associated with Kateri.
There are many miracles that have been attributed to Kateri after her death. One of the first miracles attributed to her was the healing a young boy from small pox. She is also credited for healing many people from their various illnesses. On December 19, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI signed and approved the miracle needed for Blessed Kateri's canonization. This miracle involved a young boy who had been suffering from flesh-eating bacterium after receiving a wound in a sports event. When all medical procedures performed on the boy failed, his parents claim to have prayed to Jesus Christ through Tekakwitha for divine intercession. The boy had already received his Last Rites from a Roman Catholic priest before the miracle took place.
In 1943, Kateri was declared venerable and she was beatified Pope John Paul II in 1980. On October 21, 2012, Kateri will be canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XVI. She is the Patron Saint of ecology, nature and the environment. Her tomb can be found at St. Francis Xavier Mission in the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake, near Montreal Quebec.
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