Kateri Tekakwitha
"Lily of the Mohawks"
Tekakwitha was in 1656 of a Christian Algonquin mother. Her father was a Mohawk clan Chief in the village called Ossesmenon (Auriesville, NY) along the Mohawk River.
A smallpox epidemic swept throught the Mohawk village and claimed the lives of Tekakwitha's parents and brother. She survived the disease, but left her eyesight impaired and her face scarred. It also left her physically weak for the rest of her life. Orphaned at the age 4, she was adopted by her aunt and uncle.
In 1680, St. Peter's Mission was established in Kahnawake (Fonda, NY). Four years later, Father James de Lamberville became responsible for the new mission. Tekakwitha met Father de Lamberville and expressed her disire to be baptized.
On April 5, 1676, she was baptized and was given the name Kateri. In August 1677, Kateri was encouraged and assisted to leave her Mohawk Village and live at Sault St. Louis (St. Francis Xavier Mission) near Montreal. After a long and strenuous trip, and with the help of friends, she arrived at the Sault. Finally, she would be able to practice her Christian ways with greater openness and freedom.
On Christmas Day, 1677, Kateri received her first Holy Communion. On March 25, 1679, Kateri pronounced her vow of perpetual virginity. She dedicated her life to teaching prayers to children and helping the sick and the aged until she was stricken with an illness that was to claim her life. On April 17, 1680, she died at 3:00pm at the age of twenty-four. Her last words were "lesos konoronkwa," "Jesus, I love you." A few minutes after her death those around her bedside witnessed the ugly facial scars suddenly disappear.
On January 3, 1943, she was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII. On June 22, 1980, she was Beatified by Pope John Paul II in Rome. Let us continue to pray for her canonization.
