Born in 1656, she died in 1680 after dedicating her life to prayer, chastity and care for the ill.
The first Native American saint in the Catholic Church, Kateri Tekakwitha is called the Lily of the Mohawks, and the Apostle of the Indians.
Her father was a non-Christian Mohawk Turtle chief, while her mother was Algonquin, a Christian native. Her parents and brother died when she was 4 of a smallpox epidemic. She was impaired.
Jesuits motivated her to be baptized with the name Kateri in honor of Saint Catherine of Siena.
Many of the Natives were destroyed in her community by French conquerors.
Michiganders can appreciate this New Yorker.
(This blog will continue after a parish mission, and some vacation, by April 24th).
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