Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in a Mohawk village in what is now upstate New York, and a childhood bout of smallpox left her orphaned, scarred, and with weakened eyesight. Baptized at nineteen by Jesuit missionaries, she later moved to the Christian village of Kahnawake near Montreal, where she lived a quiet life of prayer, purity, and care for the sick and elderly. She died in 1680 at just twenty-four, and in 2012 she became the first Native American to be canonized a saint, lovingly remembered as the Lily of the Mohawks.
Kateri shows us that holiness does not require an easy life — she carried illness, loss, and misunderstanding, yet her heart stayed fixed gently on Jesus. Her courage in following her faith, even when it cost her the acceptance of those around her, reminds us to hold fast to what we know is true and good. In her short years she loved God simply and completely, proof that a quiet, faithful life can shine for centuries.
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks, pray for us — that in our sorrows and our joys we may keep our eyes on Jesus as you did, and walk gently and faithfully all the way home to Him. Amen.Enter today’s Mass → All saints →