Catherine Tekakwitha (1659–1682)

Biography

Tekawitha's father was still a pagan, but his mother had embraced the Christian faith. At four years of age the girl was orphaned. Her entire family died of smallpox and she herself was left in very poor health; He lost his sight and his face was covered with scars. When Tekawitha was 18 years old, the Jesuit fathers arrived at the Mohawk village, and among the first to become interested in catechism was that girl, who was later known as “The Lily of the Mohawk.” She received baptism and was given the name Catherine. From the moment of her conversion, a true martyrdom began for Catherine on the part of her relatives, who were still pagans. He endured all kinds of insults, blows and even stones. When she attended Mass on Sundays, her relatives left her without anything to eat all day. Catalina absolutely renounced all the pagan rites of her tribe and flatly refused to marry the young indigenous man designated for her. Neither threats nor blows could break Catalina's heroic firmness. In the veneration of the Blessed Virgin, Catherine found the incomparable dignity of women and the strength to endure daily suffering. Lamberville's father finally convinced her to flee in the company of two Christians to La Prairie, a Catholic town located 300 kilometers from her village, already in Canadian territory. Catalina was sick, she could barely see and she knew she could be killed by members of her tribe. Still, she decided to go and in the midst of great hardships she was able to present herself to the parish priest of Canghawaga with a letter from Father Jacques, which said the following: "I am sending you Kateri Tekakwitha. You will soon discover what kind of jewel I have entrusted to you. Take good care of it! The new parish priest trained Catherine as a catechist for children and entrusted her with the care of the sick and elderly. On the feast of the Annunciation, Catherine offered her vow to God of perpetual virginity, within the secular state. Shortly after, her health began to decline and on Wednesday of Holy Week her passion ended. At the moment of her death, the missionaries and the people present attest, the young woman's face, disfigured by scars and suffering, was transformed into a face of heavenly beauty: the scars had completely disappeared and an angelic smile appeared on her lips.