Kateri Circle

Kateri Tekakwitha — Lily of the Mohawks
                Kateri was born in 1656 in a village on the Mohawk River called Ossernenon, now Auriesville, NY. Her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother a Christian Algonquin raised among the French. The name Tekakwitha — she was also called Tegarouita or Tegakhouita— means "she who puts things in order" or "she who advances or opens the way before her."
                Kateri was born into a period of political and religious turmoil, 10 years after three of the Jesuit martyrs were tortured and killed: Rene Goupil, Isaac Jogues and Jean Lalande. Indians blamed the "Blackrobes" for the sudden appearance of deadly white man's diseases, including small pox.
When Kateri was only 4, a small pox epidemic claimed her parents and baby brother. Kateri survived, but her face was disfigured and her eyesight impaired. According to legend, she was raised by relatives who began to plan her marriage. But after meeting with Catholic priests, Kateri decided to be baptized and pursue religious life. When she was baptized on Easter in 1676 at age 20, her relatives were not pleased.
She fled the next year to Canada, taking refuge at St. Francis Xavier Mission in the Mohawk Nation at Caughnawaga on the St. Lawrence River, about 10 miles from Montreal. She reportedly made her first Communion on Christmas in 1677.
 
A Devout Catholic
Kateri attended Mass each morning at the mission settlement. The Blessed Sacrament was avail able throughout the day for meditation, and Vespers was prayed every afternoon.
The Indians at St. Francis Xavier Mission who had converted to Catholicism often practiced harsh personal penances, including physical punishments that injured their health. Kateri joined them in such practices, injuring her own health.
All who lived or served in the mission soon realized that Kateri's holiness was something rare. She existed only to love and praise God, to give thanks to him, and to express her devotion to the Blessed Trinity and the Virgin Mary.
                Kateri once visited the growing city of Montreal and there she discovered women religious, devout nuns who lived only for Christ and cared for others in hospitals. When she re turned to the mission, she asked the priest if she could enter such a convent. The times, however, were not right for an order of Native women religious. She next asked the mission priest if she could take a vow of perpetual virginity; he welcomed her intention.
On March 25,1679 — the feast of the Annunciation — Kateri Tekakwitha vowed to live as a Bride of Christ, as a virgin forever. People remember seeing Kateri kneeling motion less and unresponsive to the world around her as she made the solemn vow.
 
Her Final Days on Earth
In early 1680, Kateri's health began to fail. She was forced to remain inside her cabin in the mission but she received a regular stream of visitors. Priests brought her Communion regularly, which was an uncommon practice for the 17th century, and as she approached death she received viaticum to help speed her toward her Lord and insure her safe arrival in eternity.
Never one to be concerned about her appearance, Kateri now wished to be clothed in a beautiful outfit so she could greet her heavenly Bridegroom arrayed in her finest dress.
On April 17,1680, the Wednesday of Holy Week, Kateri died. Her last words on earth were "Iesos konoronkwa"— "Jesus, I love you."
Those who were by her side reported that her body took on a lustrous radiance and the scars from her face disappeared. Two French trappers arrived at the mission just as Kateri died, and seeing the large crowds gathered outside her cabin went to find out them selves what was happening. Upon entering the cabin, they saw a beautiful maiden.
                Native Americans began their devotion to Kateri almost at once; novenas were prayed and Masses offered for the repose of her soul. Within months, favors were re ported as a result of her intercession.
 
A Model for the New Evangelization
As devotion to Kateri grew, she attracted many as a model of purity and chastity.
She has also come to be honored as a patroness of the environment. She teaches us how to love and care for the world because it too is a gift from God almighty.
Kateri was an evangelist. She taught children how to pray. She demonstrated through her example what rich rewards await those who are devoted to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and also to his Blessed Mother. She evangelized the French Jesuit priests who had been sent to bring the Gospel to her and to the Native peoples. She demonstrated to them that the beauty of the Christian life and message can find a home wherever they are spread. She truly lived and continues to embody the spirit of her name: She who advances or opens the way before her.
For all these reasons, Kateri Tekakwitha is a model for the New Evangelization.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Pray for Us.