LIVES OF SAINTS - Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Bl. (1656-1680)
Daughter of a Mohawk chieftain. A convert to Catholicism, she was called 'The Lily of the Mohawks." Kateri was born in a Mohawk village in Ossernenon (modern Auriesville, New York). Her father was the chief of the Tortoise clan and her mother, a Christian, was a member of the Algonquins who had been taken captive by the Mohawks in a raid. Both parents, with an infant brother, died in 1660 during a smallpox epidemic. She was left by this outbreak orphaned, scarred severely, and suffering from poor eyesight. Raised by an uncle, she was considered a highly desirable woman to many because of her father, but she soon dismayed her Mohawk companions by refusing to wed.
In 1677, she first came into contact with French Catholic missionaries who had been allowed to preach among the Iroquois according to the peace terms established between the French and the Indians after many years of fighting in the Mohawk Valley. While not yet ready to be baptized, Kateri had been deeply impressed by the Jesuit missionaries and had begun to adopt the tenets that they preached. In 1669, she was adamant in rejecting a marriage that had been arranged for her and further alienated the Mohawks of the village by refusing to consider any other possible matches and by moving toward conversion starting in 1675.
Her desire to become a Christian came to the attention of Father Jacques de LamberviUe, who gave her formal instruction. She was baptized on Easter 1676. The next year, owing to hostility from members of the tribe, she fled her village with the help of Christian warriors and sought refuge in the Sault Mission on the Richelieu River. Her final three years were spent in prayer and self-mortification. The Jesuits at the mission considered Kateri the recipient of an advanced mystical union with God, noting her asceticism and her gifts of contemplation. She fell ill and died on April 17, 1680. According to reports from those who attended her funeral, the scars that had long been present on her face disappeared, replaced by a beautiful countenance. Miracles were soon reported through her intercession. In April 1943, she was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII; Pope John Paul II beatified her in June 1980. Feast day: June 14 (in the United States).
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: This article appeared in the Encyclopedia of Catholic History, published by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division , Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., Hunting, Indiana 46750