Blessed Kateri Tekawitha
(Also known as Catherine Tegakwitha/Takwita.)
Kateri Tekawitha, known as the "Lily of the Mohawks", and the "Genevieve of New France" was an Indian virgin of the Mohak tribe born in 1656 in what is now the state of New York. Her mother was a Christian Algonuin who had been captured by the Iroquois and saved from a captive's fate by the father of Tekakwitha, to whom she also bore a son.
When Kateri was about four years old, her parents and brother died of small-pox, and she was adopted by her aunts and a uncle who had become chief of the Turtle clan. Although small-pox had marked her face and seriously impaired her eyesight and she was reserved and detached, her aunts began making plans for her future marriage.
When Kateri was 20 years old, despite family objections, she was converted and baptized by Fr.Jaques de Lamberville, a Jesuit missionary. She took a vow of chastity three years later. Following her conversion and baptism, she was persecuted and threatened by villagers, but stood firm in her faith. Finally, she went to a Christian Indian village near Montreal. There she became spiritually devoted to the Virgin Mary and practiced many forms of self-denial.
On April 17th, 1680, on Wednesday of Holy Week, she died at 3 o'clock in the afternoon at the age of twenty-four. Her last words were: "Jesos Konoronkwa". "Jesus I Love You". Fifteen minutes after her death before the eyes of two Jesuits and all the Indians that could fit into the room, the ugly scars on her face suddenly disappeared.
On January 3, 1943, she was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII.
She was Beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 30, 1980.
After her death, miraculous cures were attributed to her. Her persistence and heroic virtue continue to inspire Native American Catholics.
Kateri is the patron saint of ecologists, environmentalists, people in exile, those suffering from the loss of parents, and people ridiculed for their piety.
LITANY OF BLESSED KATERI TEKAKWITHA
Prayer for the Canonization of Kateri Tekawitha
(Also known as Catherine Tegakwitha/Takwita.)
Kateri Tekawitha, known as the "Lily of the Mohawks", and the "Genevieve of New France" was an Indian virgin of the Mohak tribe born in 1656 in what is now the state of New York. Her mother was a Christian Algonuin who had been captured by the Iroquois and saved from a captive's fate by the father of Tekakwitha, to whom she also bore a son.
When Kateri was about four years old, her parents and brother died of small-pox, and she was adopted by her aunts and a uncle who had become chief of the Turtle clan. Although small-pox had marked her face and seriously impaired her eyesight and she was reserved and detached, her aunts began making plans for her future marriage.
When Kateri was 20 years old, despite family objections, she was converted and baptized by Fr.Jaques de Lamberville, a Jesuit missionary. She took a vow of chastity three years later. Following her conversion and baptism, she was persecuted and threatened by villagers, but stood firm in her faith. Finally, she went to a Christian Indian village near Montreal. There she became spiritually devoted to the Virgin Mary and practiced many forms of self-denial.
On April 17th, 1680, on Wednesday of Holy Week, she died at 3 o'clock in the afternoon at the age of twenty-four. Her last words were: "Jesos Konoronkwa". "Jesus I Love You". Fifteen minutes after her death before the eyes of two Jesuits and all the Indians that could fit into the room, the ugly scars on her face suddenly disappeared.
On January 3, 1943, she was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII.
She was Beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 30, 1980.
After her death, miraculous cures were attributed to her. Her persistence and heroic virtue continue to inspire Native American Catholics.
Kateri is the patron saint of ecologists, environmentalists, people in exile, those suffering from the loss of parents, and people ridiculed for their piety.
LITANY OF BLESSED KATERI TEKAKWITHA
Prayer for the Canonization of Kateri Tekawitha
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