Tekakwitha, Saint Kateri, << tehk uh KWEE thah, KAT ur ee >> (1656-1680), was the first North Native American to become a saint of the Roman Catholic Church . She was canonized (declared a saint) by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 21, 2012.
Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon, near the present-day town of Auriesville, Montgomery County, New York. Her father was a Mohawk chief named Kenneronkwa. Her mother, Tagaskouita, was an Algonquin and a Christian. Tekakwitha’s parents and brother died during a smallpox outbreak in about 1660. Although Tekakwitha survived, the disease permanently scarred her face and severely damaged her eyesight. She was adopted by her father’s brother, a leader in the same Mohawk clan as her father. Tekakwitha’s uncle was opposed to Christianity.
Tekakwitha briefly came into contact with Jesuits in 1667, when three of them visited her village. Jesuits are a Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers (religious men who are not priests). The Jesuits were working among the native peoples of New France (now eastern Canada and the eastern United States). Tekakwitha began studying Catholicism in 1675 with another Jesuit who had arrived at her village. She frequently was encouraged to marry. However, she refused marriage offers and spent most of her time praying and doing good works.
On Easter Sunday, April 5, 1676, Tekakwitha was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith. She took the name Catherine, translated as Kateri in the Mohawk language. Her family and the people in her village disapproved of her conversion. They persecuted her and threatened her with death. In 1677, Tekakwitha fled to a Jesuit mission in Canada. There, she continued her prayer and good works, in addition to performing such penances (self-imposed punishments to make up for sins) as sleeping on thorns and fasting (going without food) for long periods.
Tekakwitha’s actions gained the attention of several Jesuits who recognized her life as holy and kept detailed accounts of her actions. But her health, weakened by smallpox and by her constant fasts and penances, grew worse. She died on April 17, 1680. People present at Tekakwitha’s death said that her face, once marked by scars, became clear and beautiful. She was credited with several miracles of healing the sick after her death.
Native peoples have found strength in Tekakwitha’s example of hope and patience in the face of hardship. In addition, Tekakwitha and her Jesuit spiritual guides serve as an example of how the same faith can be expressed in different cultures.
