[ footprints ] Kateri Tekakwitha - Memories of Kateri Tekakwitha renews faith in believers

In front of the St. Francis Cathedral just east of the historic plaza in the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, stands a beguiling statue. It's of a beautiful, full-figured Aboriginal woman, wearing white Navajo boots, turquoise jewellery, and a pleated, broomstick skirt. Clutched to her bosom are four black and white eagle feathers.
Visiting the church last Christmas, I was immediately drawn to the statue, curious as to who this attractive woman was. The bronze plaque at her feet read "Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha". I was bemused as I had always thought Kateri was Mohawk, and here she was dressed up as a Navajo. I read further, on another sign, that the artist had taken license in representing Tekakwitha as a southwestern woman, because all of Native North America claims her as their own since she is the first Native American to be declared blessed. Venerated by Pope Pius XII in 1943; she was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980. In order for her to be canonized and declared a saint, another miracle attributed to Kateri must first be proved.
I was interested in who Kateri was and found a plethora of information about her online. What struck me the most, of course, was reading about this woman's demonstrated faith in God and her stand as a Christian at a time when living as a Christian was deadly.
Kateri was born in 1656 in Ossernenon, a Mohawk village located near present day Auriesville, New York. Her father was a proud Mohawk chief, but her mother was an Algonquin woman who had been captured by the Mohawk and who had converted to Christianity. It was she who influenced Tekakwitha's great faith.
When her community was ravaged by smallpox, Tekakwitha was orphaned at the age of four. She was the only member of her family to survive, and she was adopted by her father's brother, who assumed the role of chief.
She didn't escape the disease unscathed though, for her body was weakened and covered in scars. It also affected her eyesight and in bright sunlight she was almost blinded. Thus, she was given the name Tekakwitha, which means "she who stumbles into things."
Tekakwitha's uncle was bitterly opposed to Christianity. He distrusted all newcomers because of the way they treated the Indians, and the fact they were responsible for introducing smallpox and other deadly diseases to his people. When Tekakwitha was eight years old, her foster family, in accordance with Iroquois custom, paired her with a young boy who they expected she would marry. However, she showed no interest in marriage.
When Tekakwitha was ten, in 1666, a war party composed of French soldiers and hostile Indians from northern regions destroyed the Mohawk strongholds on the south bank of the Mohawk River, including Ossermenon. The surviving Mohawks moved to the north side of the river and built their fortified village about half a mile west of the present village of Fonda, New York.
When Jesuit missionary Father Jacques de Lamberville arrived to set up a permanent mission, Kateri slipped past her uncle's scrutiny and spoke to him. She told him she wanted to be a Christian and on Easter Sunday in 1676 she was baptized.
Tekakwitha took her instructions in the Catholic faith in secret. Even though her uncle finally relented and gave his consent for his niece to follow Jesus, provided that she didn't leave the Indian village, the rest of her people hated her and threw rocks at her as she walked to the chapel, calling her "the Christian."
One day, when Tekakwitha was alone in a longhouse, a young male villager, angered by her beliefs, burst into her home and threatened to kill her if she didn't renounce her faith. As he stood over her, spiked war club in hand, she calmly told him he could take her life, but not her faith, then lowered her head and waited for him to crack her skull. Her unflinching calm and faith flustered the would-be killer and he left without harming her. A year later, finally hoping to escape her persecutors, Kateri fled to the Mission of St. Francis Xavier, a settlement of Indians in Canada, also named Caughnawaga (Kahnawake, Quebec) populated by Mohawk people who were much more accepting of Christianity. That Christmas, she made her first communion. Kateri lived in Caughnawaga for the next ten years.
In Canada, Tekakwitha was in her element. She taught children to pray, and cared for the sick and elderly. Many were inspired by her goodness, while she felt the need to do penance for her weakness and sins. She denied herself simple comforts, mixed ashes in her food, and once slept on a bed covered in thorns. She even branded herself with hot coals, offering up her suffering to God.
In 1679 she visited nuns in nearby Ville-Marie (now Montreal) and was so impressed with their lifestyle that she asked to set up her own convent. Her request was refused, but she still chose to take the vow of chastity, which she did on March 25, becoming the first Native American woman to do so.
Sadly, by the winter of 1679, her poor health affected her with dire consequences, no doubt helped along by her extreme penances. Headaches, stomach pains, and weakness plagued her, until she took to her bed and finally slipped away on April 17, 1680. Her last words professed her love for Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
A miracle is said to have transfigured her corpse. Observers say that 15 minutes after her death, the smallpox scars that had marked her since childhood, completely disappeared, replaced by a glowing beauty. Many who witnessed this even took it as a sign that the Mohawk woman was truly special, and felt the transformation occurred at the moment Tekakwitha saw God. Following her death, people also reported seeing visions of her, and many say she healed them, or that they were made well simply by touching the cross that she had held on her deathbed.
Many shrines across North America pay homage to the Blessed Kateri today; she is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, and thousands still flock to these for healing. She is the patron of the environment, people in exile, people ridiculed for their religious beliefs, orphans, and of World Youth Day.
In Canada, the Feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is celebrated April 17, the anniversary of her death.