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The Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
This summer, if any of you should find yourself on Interstate 90 just northwest of Schenectady, New York, you can take the opportunity to visit the Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha near Fonda. The shrine has been in the care of the Conventual Franciscans since 1938 and is not far from Kateri's original home.
Pilgrims heading to the Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
But who was Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha? Born to an Algonquin mother and a Mohawk chief father in 1656, Kateri lived in a Mohawk settlement called
Canaouaga. Her parents died from smallpox when she was very young; Kateri also suffered from the disease, which left her face marred and eyesight diminished. According to the Shrine of Blessed Kateri website, the young Kateri received the moniker "Tekakwitha", meaning - "she who bumps into things" - after her illness.
An uncle took Kateri in after she became an orphan. When the girl turned 8 years old, the uncle and his family selected a future husband for her. Yet, already at this time, Kateri felt a calling to serve God. Her foster family mistrusted the European settlers from whom Kateri would have to receive instruction in the Catholic faith.
In 1666, Kateri's home village of Canaouaga was destroyed in a war between the Mohawks and an alliance of French and indigenous people from what is today Canada. After this turmoil, Kateri moved to
Caughnawaga - the current location of her shrine - and at 18 years of age began to study Catholicism there.
Kateri's uncle eventually allowed her to become a Christian, but Kateri's fellow villagers mocked her new faith. This ostracism forced Kateri to settle in the Mission of St. Francis of Xavier - a community of Christian indigenous people - in modern day Canada. The community was eventually called Caughnawaga, the same name as Kateri's previous place of settlement.
It was in her new home on December 25, 1677 that Kateri took her first communion. She spent the rest of her life there, helping the infirm, teaching prayers to children, and attending morning and evening Mass. She was very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and the Cross of Jesus Christ.
Three years after her first communion, Kateri died from a serious illness. She was 24 years old and is buried in
Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada.
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