Kateri Tekakwitha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Virgin | |
| Born | 1656, Ossernenon, Iroquois Territory (Modern Auriesville, New York) |
| Died | April 17, 1680, Kahnawake, Canada |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church (United States and Canada) |
| Beatified | June 22, 1980 |
| Canonized | Pending |
| Major shrine | St. Francis Xavier Church, Kahnawake, Quebec |
| Feast | April 17 (Canada), July 14 (US) |
| Attributes | Lily, Turtle |
| Patronage | Ecology |
Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 – April 17, 1680), the daughter of a Mohawk warrior and a Christian Algonquin woman, was born in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon near present-day Auriesville, New York. At the age of 4 smallpox swept through Ossernenon, and Tekakwitha was left with unsightly scars and poor eyesight. The outbreak took the lives of her brother and both her parents. She was then adopted by her uncle, who was the chief of the Turtle-clan. As the adopted daughter of the chief, she was courted by many of the warriors looking for her hand in marriage. However, during this time she began taking interest in Christianity, which was taught to her by her mother.
In 1666, the Marquis Alexandre De Prouville de Tracy burned down Ossernenon. A new fort, Caughnawaga, was built on the north side of the Mohawk River in what is now Fonda, New York. While living here, Tekakwitha was converted and baptized in 1676 by Father Jacques de Lamberville, a Jesuit. At her baptism, she took the name "Kateri", a Mohawk pronunciation of "Catherine". Unable to understand her zeal, members of the tribe often chastised her, which she took as a testament to her faith.
Because she was persecuted by her Indian kin, which even resulted in threats on her life, she moved to Kahnawake, Canada where she lived a life dedicated to prayer, penitential practices, and care for the sick and aged. In 1679, she took a vow of chastity. A year later, Kateri died at the age of 24.
She is called "The Lily of the Mohawks," the "Mohawk Maiden," the "Pure and Tender Lily," and the "Fairest Flower among True Men." [1]
Contents |
[edit] Veneration
According to eyewitness accounts, Kateri's scars vanished at the time of her death revealing a woman of immense beauty. It has been claimed that at her funeral many of the ill who attended were healed on that day.[citation needed] It is also held that she appeared to two different individuals in the weeks following her death.[2]
The process of her canonization began in 1884. She was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII on January 3, 1943. She was beatified June 22, 1980 by Pope John Paul II, and as such she is properly referred to as Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha within the Roman Catholic Church. She is the first Native American to be so honored, and as such she holds a special place of devotion among the Catholics of North America. Devotion to Blessed Kateri is clearly manifest in at least 3 national shrines in the United States alone, including the National Kateri Shrine in Fonda, New York, the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York, and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
As of 2004, her canonization is currently awaiting a verified miracle. Her feast day in the United States is celebrated on July 14. Kateri was for some time after her death considered an honorary (though unofficial) patron of Canada, Montreal, and Native Americans. Fifty years after her death a Convent for Native American nuns was opened in Mexico, whose residents pray daily for her canonization. Even though she has not been canonized it isn't uncommon to find medallions and icons that address her as Saint Kateri.
[edit] In literature
Kateri Tekakwitha figures prominently as a character in fiction by Leonard Cohen (Beautiful Losers) and William Vollmann (Fathers and Crows).
Nancy Shoemaker's article "Kateri Tekakwitha's Tortuous Path to Sainthood," from Negotiators of Change: Historical Perspectives on Native American Women, links Tekakwitha's role with the history of women in North America.
Allan Greer's 2005 book Mohawk Saint : Catherine Tekakwitha and the Jesuits is a most enlightening look at her life, as well as that of her Jesuit biographers/hagiographers, and questions the way social/religious/cultural groups and even research sources themselves are analyzed in historiography.
[edit] Canonization Prayer
O God, who, among the many marvels of Your Grace in the New World, did cause to blossom on the banks of the Mohawk and the St. Lawrence, the pure and tender Lily, Kateri Tekakwitha, grant, we beseech You, the favor we beg through her intercession, that this Young Lover of Jesus and of His Cross may soon be counted among the Saints of Holy Mother Church, and that our hearts may be enkindled with a stronger desire to imitate her innocence and faith. Through the same Christ Our Lord, Amen.
- IMPRIMATUR:
- Most Rev. Bernard Hubert, Bishop of Saint Jean de Québec
- Most Rev. Howard J. Hubbard, Bishop of Albany, New York
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bunson, Margaret and Stephen, "Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks," Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions brochure, pg.1
- ^ Father Pierre Cholenec's biography of the Kateri Tekakwitha and her details of her apparitions [1]
[edit] External links
- Kateri Tekakwitha website
- The Kateri Tekakwitha entry at Catholic-Forum.com's Patron Saint Index
- Kateri's entry at Catholic.org's Saints & Angels Index
- The (U.S.) National Kateri Shrine, in Fonda, New York
- The (U.S.) National Shrine of the North American Martyrs, in Auriesville, New York
- Catholic Conservation Center's Page about Kateri Tekakwitha
- Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. Catholic Encyclopedia.
