14th of July is the Feast Day of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the church’s first Native American saint.
Born in 1656, her parents and siblings died from smallpox while she was young, leading to her being raised by relatives.
After encountering Jesuits, she was baptised aged 20. She was a Mohawk and they did not take kindly to her conversion, isolating her. She eventually moved to live near other Catholics close to Montreal.
She lived a very deep spiritual life in the Catholic faith and was canonised in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Latest Posts
