No story better exemplifies the fruit of the Jesuit’s mission to bring the Catholic faith to the New World’s natives than the conversion and heroic life of the Mohawk maiden, Kateri Tekakwitha.
In 1656, deep in the leafy green wilderness where the town of Auriesville, New York, stands today, an infant girl was born in the village of Ossernenon, a stronghold of the fearsome Mohawk tribe.
Her mother, a Christian Algonquin, had been captured in a raid and wedded to the Mohawk chief, whose tribe was the fiercest of a confederacy known as the Iroquois, comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations.
The Mohawks were the most resistant to the evangelization of the French missionaries and were ultimately responsible for the deaths of the eight North American martyrs.
But, the grace of God was at work, and converts were already appearing among the Iroquois.
A Trail of Tears
Suffering soon came to the young Kateri when, at the age of four, she contracted the deadly smallpox virus. Miraculously, she recovered but would bear the disease’s pockmark scars for the rest of her life.
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As she grew older, her persecution for her Christian beliefs grew more intense. She remained steadfast, declaring, “I want to be a Christian, even though I should die for it.” Her persecution was exacerbated when she made a vow of virginity and refused to marry according to her parents’ wishes.
A Leap of Faith
In time, Catholic missionaries visited her village, and at the age of 19, she was baptized, taking the name Kateri, Mohawk for Catherine, as a mark of her rebirth into her new life with Christ.
Kateri was dedicated to living her faith. An example of her heroic virtue was soon evident when she began making sacrifices for the conversion of her family, sacrifices which included lying on a mat with thorns.
Hostility to Kateri’s conversion remained, and she was accused of being a sorceress. As she refused to work on Sunday, the Lord’s day of rest, her parents would not allow her to eat.
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She decided to pursue her life of prayer at Kahnawake, a Catholic mission in Quebec, where, residing with other native converts, she continued to spend time in penance and devotions. The more than 200 miles she traversed to reach it are testimony to her radical resolve to practice her faith.
By 1680, Kateri’s health was failing fast. Just four days short of Easter, on April 17, she received the Last Rites. Her last words sum up her life’s mission: “Jesus, Mary, I love you.”
Postscript
Following Kateri’s death, God performed a miracle to confirm her saintly life, removing all traces of the smallpox disease that had marred her face and body. Pope Pius XII declared her venerable on January 3, 1943, and she was declared a saint by Pope John Paul II on June 22, 1980.