Kaia'tanó:ron
Kateri Tekakwitha

Lily of the Mohawks
1656-1680

Her troubled journey began over 300 years ago at Ossernenon, a Native American village near present-day Auriesville, New York. Overcoming great obstacles, she would one day become highly respected for her holiness and concern for others. Her name is Kateri Tekakwitha.

Kateri was born in 1656 to a captive Christian Algonquin mother and a pagan Mohawk chief. At age 4, she was infected with smallpox and orphaned after the epidemic took the lives of her parents and brother. The disease left the young girl with very poor eyesight and a severely pock-marked face. She suffered often from depression because of her condition.

Adopted by her uncle, Kateri moved to his village near Fonda, New York, then known as Caughnawaga. At the age of eleven, she felt comforted by her acquaintance with visiting Christian missionaries: "I want to be like you -- Christian," she told them. "You help me to believe I am special when you say God loves all people, no matter how different they are. It is against Mohawk rule for me to be Christian until I am nineteen years old. Then I will be free to choose."

Kateri endured eight years of insults and criticism because of her Christian beliefs. She spent much time alone. "One day I will have God to love and to accept me," the young woman would tell herself.

During 1675, despite the protests from her uncle, Kateri requested to be instructed in the Christian faith. On Easter Sunday, April 18, 1676, at the age of 20, her greatest wish was fulfilled. She was baptized by a Jesuit priest, Father Jacques de Lamberville, and given the name Catherine (Kateri in the Mohawk language).

"Now you truly are one of God's children," Father Jacques told her.

Kateri's happiness ended soon, however. Threats, abuse, and ridicule by relatives and other Indians because of her new religion, forced the girl to flee her home and trek almost 200 miles north by canoe, to a Christian Indian village. In 1677, after settleing in Sault Saint-Louis, near Montreal, Canada, Kateri received her First Holy Communion on Christmas Day.

"I totally commit myself to God," she announced to those gathered around her "and vow to never marry."

The devout young lady's total devotion to God inspired many of her people to become Christians themselves. Those who converted referred to her as "Lily of the Mohawks." (For centuries, the lily has symbolized that which is pure and good.) The driven young woman's daily presence in the mission chapel, unquestionable charity toward others, voluntary fastings and penances, and hard work revealed her total desire to please God.

Sadly, Kateri died from a fever at Sault Saint-Louis on April 17, 1680. She was 24 years old. It has been documented that at the moment of death, the smallpox scars on her face disappeared. Following her passing, several miracles are believed to be linked to her. Generations of Christian Indians and their French neighbors continue to visit Kateri's grave, showing their deep reverance for the saintly Indian maiden.

In 1932, the Catholic Church authorized an investigation of the "Cause of Catherine Tekakwitha" for possible beatification and canonization. Lily of the Mohawks was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII in 1943, meaning that she lived a life of faith and morals. This is the first step toward sainthood. In 1980, Kateri was beatified by Pope John Paul II. Over 400 Native Americans attended the beatification Mass in Vatican City. Kateri Tekakwitha will be the first North American Indian to reach sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church, following proof that a total of two miracles have been associated with her. Until that time, she may be referred to as "Blessed."

Today, among the other sites located on the grounds of the National Kateri Shrine in Fonda, New York, is the spring used for the baptism of Blessed Kateri. Also, reverently displayed there is a beautiful statue of the devout young woman who endured so much suffering.

Bibliography
Delaney, John J. Dictionary of Saints, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., Inc. 1980. Doubleday & Co., Inc. 1980.
Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedi, 1933, Vol. 25, p. 183.
Grassmann, Thomas, Notable American Women 1607-1950, Cambridge, MA and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.
Manternach, Janaan, and Carl J. Pfeifer, This is Our Faith, Morristown, NJ: Silver, Burdett & Ginn, Inc., 1991.
Sherr, Lynn, and Jurate Kazickas, Susan B. Anthony Slept Here: A guide to American Women's Landmarks, New York: Random House, Inc., 1976, 1994.

Michelle M. Fortunato writes from Rocky Hill, Connecticut.

Reprinted on this website with permission from the author.

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