Also known as
 Catherine Tekakwitha
 Lily of the Mohawks
 Tegakouita
 Tegakwitha
Memorial
14 July
Profile
Daughter of a Christian Algonquin woman captured by Iroquois and married to a non-Christian Mohawk chief. Orphaned during a smallpox epidemic, which left her with a scarred face and impaired eyesight. Converted and baptized in 1676 by Father Jacques de Lamberville, a Jesuit missionary. Shunned and abused by relatives for her faith. Escaped through 200 miles of wilderness to the Christian Native American village of Sault-Sainte-Marie. Took a vow of chastity in 1679. Known for spirituality and austere lifestyle. Miracle worker. Her grave became a pilgrimage site and place of miracles for Christian Native Americans and French colonists. First Native American proposed for canonization, her cause was started in 1884 under Pope Leo XIII. The Tekakwitha Conference, an international association of Native American Catholics and those in ministry with them, was named for her.
Born
1656 at Osserneon (Auriesville), modern New York, USA
Died
17 April 1680 at Caughnawaga, Canada
Venerated
3 January 1943
Beatified
22 June 1980 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized
pending; if you have information relevant to the cause of the canonization of Blessed Kateri, contact:
   Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha League
   136 Shrine Road
   Auriesville, NY 12016, USA
      - or -
   Centre Kateri
   C.P. 70
   Kahnawake, Quebec, J0L 1B0, CANADA
Patronage
ecologists; ecology; environment; environmentalism; environmentalists; exiles; loss of parents; people in exile; people ridiculed for their piety