Kateri Tekakwitha

1. KateriTekakwitha By Kaelynn Olmos & Maya Sanchez ^.^♥

2. About KateriTekakwitha • known as Lily of the Mohawks • born around 1656 in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon near present-day Auriesville, New York. • the daughter of a Mohawk warrior • Her parents and brother died from smallpox • baptized at the age of 20, on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1676 • professed a vow of virginity until her death at the age of 24. • died on April 17, 1680 at the age of 24, in the arms of her friend Marie-Therèse. • her final words were, “ lesosKonoronkwa.” meaning “Jesus, I love You.”

3. Key Events of Her Life (: • The stories her mother told her about her Catholic faith remained impressed in her heart and mind which gave her shape and direction for her destiny • When Tekakwitha was eighteen, Father de Lamberville, a Jesuit missionary, came to Caughnawaga and established a chapel. • became a Christian andwas baptized on April 5th1676 • Because of increasing hostility from her people and because she wanted to devote her life to working for God, in July of 1677, Kateri left her village and fled to the Catholic mission of St. Francis Xavier at Sault Saint-Louis. • Kateri led a life of prayer and penitential practices.

4. Key Events of Her Life (: Continued • She taught the young and helped those in the village who were poor or sick. Kateri spoke words of kindness to everyone she encountered • Because of her determination in proving herself worthy of God and her undying faith she was allowed to receive her First Holy Communion on Christmas Day, 1677. • Kateri's motto became, "Who can tell me what is most pleasing to God that I may do it?" • On March 15, 1679, at the Feast of the Annunciation, she pronounced her vow of perpetual virginity • Katerihoped to start a convent for Native American sisters in Sault St. Louis but her spiritual director, Father Pierre Cholonec discouraged her. • Kateri'shealth, never good, was deteriorating rapidly due in part to the penances she inflicted on herself. • Father Cholonec encouraged Kateri to take better care of herself but she laughed and continued with her "acts of love."

5. Key Events of Her Life (: Continued • died in 1680 at the age of 24. Her last words were, "Jesus, I love You.“ • The Catholic Church declared Kateri venerable in 1943. • She was beatified in 1980 by Pope John Paul II. • is the first Native American to be declared Blessed. • Her feast is celebrated on July 14th in the United States. • Pope John Paul II designated Blessed Kateri as a patroness for World Youth Day 2002. • On December 19, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree necessary for the canonization of Blessed Kateri. • Blessed Kateri will be canonized as a saint on October 21, 2012.

6. Obstacles/ Hardships :c • Her parents and brother died form smallpox • survived the small pox but was left with scars and impaired eyesight • Her impaired eyesight made it difficult for her to see was orphaned but adopted by her aunt and uncle • After her baptism, Kateri became the village outcast. • Her family refused her food on Sundays because she wouldn't work. • Children would taunt her and throw stones. • She was threatened with torture or death if she did not renounce her religion.

7. Head, Heart, Hands • Kateri’sfaith is strong mentally because she knows that God is always by her side and will never abandon her even though she went through pretty hard times. • Kateri’s faith is strong eternally because she loves God with all her heart, soul, and mind. She shares her faith and love to the sick and poor around her. • Kateri puts her faith to work by teaching the young and helping those in the village who were poor or sick and carried her faith wherever she went.

8. How Prayer was featured in Her Daily Life • She often went to the woods alone to speak to God and listen to Him in her heart and in the voice of nature(before she was baptized). • Her favorite devotion was to fashion crosses out of sticks and place them throughout the woods. • These crosses served as stations that reminded her to spend a moment in prayer. • spent much of her time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, kneeling in the cold chapel for hours. • When the winter hunting season took Kateri and many of the villagers away from the village, she made her own little chapel in the woods by carving a Cross on a tree and spent time in prayer there, kneeling in the snow. • Kateriloved the Rosary and carried it around her neck always.

9. Why Can Kateri Be Called A Christian Witness? Kateri can be called a Christian witness because she has "openly profess faith in God through their words and actions."(Isaiah 43:8-12/Isaiah 44:8).

10. Inspirational Quote ~(^o^)~ “I am not my own; I have given myself to Jesus. He must be my only love the state of helplessness poverty that may befall if I do not marry it does not frighten me. All I need is a few pieces of clothing and food with the work of my hands I shall always earn what is necessary and what is left over ill give to my relatives and ill give to the poor if I should become sick and unable to work, then I shall be like the Lord on the cross he will have mercy on me and help me, I'm sure.”