KATERI TEKAKWITHA

“Native American Saint”

Child of an Algonquin woman and a Mohawk chief, Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656. Orphaned, half-blind, scarred by illness, she was destined to walk the path of holiness and was declared blessed in 1980. She is a symbol of reconciliation emerging from the collision of cultural, economic and political forces that forged the American nation. Archbishop Chaput and Bishop Pelotte place her on holy ground where Native Americans make their indispensable contribution to the Church.