Every year on August 9, the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is celebrated. It was established in December 1994 by the United Nations General Assembly to promote and defend the rights of Indigenous peoples around the world.
On this very day, it is meaningful to remember the story of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indigenous saint of the Americas, known as “the lily of the Mohawks.” Let's find out more.
«Exemplary dedication»
Pope Francis recalled Kateri Tekakwitha's «exemplary dedication to prayer and work, as well as the ability to endure many trials with patience and gentleness». These are characteristics that the Pope attributes to «certain noble and virtuous traits inherited from her community and the Indigenous environment in which she grew up».
Her story
Kateri's father was a pagan Mohawk chief. Her mother belonged to the Algonquin community but was Christian. At the age of 4, she lost her parents and brother to smallpox. She also fell ill, survived, but was left with a disfigured face and serious vision problems. Taken in by an uncle, she was given the name Tekakwitha, which in the Indigenous language means “the one who puts things in order.” At the age of 11, meeting three Jesuit missionaries increased her desire to know and love God.
As she grew older, she prayed to the Lord more and more often to preserve her chastity and, in the secrecy of her prayer, consecrated herself to Him. At 17, she refused to marry a young man chosen by the tribal chiefs. In 1676, on Easter Day, she was baptized with the name Kateri, Catherine. From that day on, she began attending church regularly, observed Sunday rest, and often withdrew to pray. For this reason, her relatives began treating her badly and even slandering her. Kateri then moved to a mission in Sault, Quebec. There, she willingly made herself available to everyone, especially children, whom she never failed to comfort with a caress. Finally, at Christmas in 1677, she received her First Communion, and from that moment everyone began describing her as a creature who seemed to belong more to heaven than to earth. On March 25, 1679, at the age of 23, with the consent of her spiritual director, Kateri made a vow of perpetual virginity; it was the first time this had happened among the Native Americans of North America. On April 17, 1680, consumed by fever, she died saying: “Jesus, I love you!” After her death, the smallpox marks disappeared from her face. Kateri’s tomb soon became a pilgrimage destination.
The postulator of the cause, Father Paolo Molinari, said that Tekakwitha’s canonization was “a recognition of the Native American tribes and their richness.” “It does not highlight only the person, but everything that a person represents: a culture rooted in tradition, a way of living in cordial relationship, as they do in the tribes.”
And did you know the story of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha? Write it in the comments.
