New Kateri Artwork for the National Shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

 

Herman Ray of the Pima Tribe of Arizona holds the 1st class relic of Kateri Tekakwitha that was donated to the St. Regis Mission Parish.

Karla Kozach, artist who won Artwork Contest to design new Kateri artwork for the National Shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha at Fonda, New York

Submitted by Victor Martin

BACKGROUND FEAST OF ST. KATERI TEKAKWITHA (APRIL 17)

Pictured are Bernice Lazore, Rose Alma McDonald, Fr. Jerome Pastores, Karla Kozach, Sister Kateri Mitchell and Herman Ray

The first North American Indigenous woman to be canonized, Kateri is often called the Lily of the Mohawks. Kateri was born in 1656 on the southern bank of the Mohawk River at Osserneon (Auriesville, NY). Her mother was a Christian Algonquin from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec and her father was a non-Christian Mohawk Chief. When she was four years old, a smallpox epidemic killed her parents and her brother, and left her with seriously impaired eyesight and a disfigured face.

Inspired by Jesuit missionaries from an early age, Tekakwitha was baptized on Easter Sunday 1676 and assumed the name Kateri, likely in honor of St. Catherine of Siena. The following year, due to persecution in her community, Kateri escaped to Kahnawake on the St. Lawrence River opposite Tiohtiake (Montreal). She had a strong devotion to the Eucharist and a deep concern for others. She died on April 17, 1680. St. Kateri Tekakwitha was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 21, 2012. She is the patroness of ecology and the environment, people in exile and Native Americans.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/14/2024 08:54