St. Kateri Tekakwitha

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Kateri. St. Kateri was born during the year 1656 in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon. St. Kateri is one of the first Native American saints in the Catholic Church.

St. Kateri’s mother was Algonquin, her mother had been captured by Mohawks and eventually took the Mohawk chief to be her husband.

At the young age of 4, St. Kateri had gotten smallpox which left scars on her skin. During her youth, St. Kateri was humiliated for the scars that she had on her skin. The humiliation was so bad that St. Kateri would hide her face using a blanket.

During the huge outbreak, St. Kateri’s family had passed away. Therefore after the death of her family, St. Kateri was raised by her uncle, who was the chief of the Mohawk group.

St. Kateri was said to be a very patient, wise, and diligent hardworking person. St. Kateri would work her way through many different obstacles that she encountered. St. Kateri had refused to marry and when her adoptive parents would propose a man to her, she would refuse to marry him and she wouldn’t talk to him. Due to all the refusing she was doing they decided to punish her. For St. Kateri’s punishment, she had received more work to do. St. Kateri may have been given more work but she did not give in to her adoptive parents and she stayed strong through all the trials they put her through. After some time, St. Kateri’s adoptive parents understood that she did not want to get married and they stopped trying to get her to get married.

When St. Kateri was 19 years old, St. Kateri Tekakwitha felt the calling to join Catholicism. Therefore St. Kateri converted to Catholicism, she took a vow of chastity and pledging to marry only Jesus Christ.

This was a very special day for St. Kateri, however her decision were very unpopular with her adoptive parents and their neighbors. Some of St. Kateri’s neighbors started to spread rumors of sorcery. To avoid persecution, she decided to travel to a Christian native community which was located in the south of Montreal.

St. Kateri was very strong believer and she completely devoted herself to God. St. Kateri would put thorns on her sleeping mat. St. Kateri would pray for those who treated her harshly, and St. Kateri would pray for the conversion of her fellow Mohawks. A couple of Jesuit missionaries that served in the community where St. Kateri lived reported that, St. Kateri often fasted and when she would eat, she would taint her food to get rid of its flavor. During one occasion, she burned herself. Such self-mortification was common among the Mohawk.

St. Kateri was extremely in love with God and due to this love she had, she was known for her steadfast devotion. St. Kateri was also very ill. Therefore due to her sickness St. Kateri’s practices of self-mortification and denial may not have helped her health. Unfortunately, after only five years of her conversion to Catholicism, she became extremely ill and passed away. St. Kateri passed away at age 24, on April 17, 1680.

St. Kateri’s name, Kateri, is the Mohawk form of Catherine, which she took from St. Catherine of Siena because St. Kateri liked St. Catherine of Siena a lot.

During October 21, 2012, St. Kateri Tekakwitha was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI. St. Kateri is the patron saint of ecology, the environment, people in exile and Native Americans. St. Kateri’s feast day is celebrated on April 17.

Prayer to St. Kateri:

St. Kateri help us to gain the strength and wisdom we need to deepen our relationship with Christ so that when we encounter trials and temptations as you did during your life we may act in a similar way as you did and treat those who do wrong to us with love and surrender ourselves to Christ so that he may help us conquer the temptation we may encounter. St. Kateri help us to guide more people to Christ through our actions and charity. St. Kateri please help more people find out about Christ’s love and mercy.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord and Mary Our Mother in Heaven

Amen

St. Kateri pray for us

St. Joseph pray for us

May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.

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Works cited:

Information (read from, not taken):

Catholic Online. “St. Kateri Tekakwitha. ”St. Kateri Tekakwitha - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online. Accessed 17 April 2021.

Images:

St. Kateri Tekakwitha. April 17, 2021. st. kateri tekakwitha - Google Search.