Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is also known as the Lilly of the Mohawks.

Catherine Tekakwitha was born in Ossernenon, New York in 1656 and died on Wednesday of Holy Week, April 17, 1680 in Kahnawake, Canada. Catherine's mother was a Catholic Algonquin and her father was Mohawk.

Catherine was very much infuenced by her mother who was a fervent Christian and by the "Black Robes". She was to live a life of remarkable virtue.

In 1660, at the age of four, Kateri was orphaned when a small pox epidemic took the lives of her parents and brother. Kateri was left horribly scarred and nearly blind. Her uncle took her to live with him and his family in a new village in Kahnawake Canada. This is where Kateri, for the first time, saw the "Black Robes", the Jesuit Priests, her mother spoke of. In spite of her Uncle's hatred of Christians, she wanted to become one and watched the Black Robes with interest as they went about their chores and work. She desparately wanted to be baptized by them.

In 1676, on Easter, Kateri was finally baptized at St. Peter's Mission in Caughnawaga, New York and received her First Communion on Christmas Day, 1677. She spent many hours praying and talking to God. She refused to ever marry, for she believed she was married to God and He would be the only Lord ever in her heart. She became very devoted to God and the Black Robes in spite of criticism and ridicule from the village people. With the help of her brother-in-law, a Huron, and another Huron and an Oneida, she escaped and traveled north to Sault St. Louis to immerse herself in Christianity and to learn all she could.

You can read about Kateri's escape from her uncle who terrified her at the related link below this article. Kateri's Trail is a heart rendering journey portraying the terror and fear of being captured and returned to her uncle's village and her strong determination to find her salvation. Her bibliography, written by her Spiritual Advisor and translated by William Lonc, S.J., can also be read at the same link.

After arriving at her place of learning she expressed the desire to become a Nun. The Priests told her she was too young to do so. Kateri, through devotion and determination proved them wrong and they finally allowed her to become a sister of the mission. All she wanted was to spend her life in the service of God.

As the years slowly passed, Kateri contracted tuberculosis which infected and took over her body. She became weak and extremely ill. The disease robbed her of all her strength and eventually her life. At the age of 24, Kateri died at the mission of Laprairie where she gave her devotion, life and service to God.

Since her death, many have claimed of miracles by praying to Kateri. After considerable investigation and validation of miracles, Kateri was declared venerable by Pope Pius XII on January 3, 1943 and was beautified by Pope John Paul II on June 30, 1980. Her Feast Day is July 14 in the United States and April 17 in Canada. You can read about her Shrine at the Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine link below.

Father Pierre Cholenec, a witness at her deathbed, said that at the time of her death Kateri's face which was so disfigured and so swarthy in life, "suddenly changed about fifteen minutes after her death, and in an instant became so beautiful and so fair..." as though she had "already received in her virginal body a small indication of the glory of which her soul had taken possession in Heaven."

From a translation by Fr. William Lonc, S.J., of Father Pierre Cholenec, S.J., Catherine Tekakwitha, Summer 2002, p. 50:

Kateri, orphaned, half blind, scarred by illness and of little worth in her own world, was destined for a greatness of the spirit that spans the centuries and reflects the landscapes - North American wilderness, world of the Iroquois, the Europeans, the mystical realm - in which she existed for so brief a time. These landscapes would collide, confound and torment, eventually robbing her of life, but they would also mold one of the most remarkable, hidden human beings to ever walk the trails of early America. She has been called the Lily of the Mohawks, but perhaps another title should be given to her as well: "Mystic of the Wilderness."

The oldest portrait of Kateri Tekakwitha is an oil painting on canvas 41"x37" painted by Father Chauchetière between 1682-1693. It hangs in the sacristy of St. Francis Xavier Church on the Kanawaké Mohawk Reservation on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, near Montréal, Québec.

Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone forth like the sun, and His clothes became dazzling white.
- Matthew 17:1-2
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