Chaplet of Saint Kateria (24 Bead)
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680) "Lily of the Mohawks"Feast Day: July 14Patronage: Environment, ecology, nature, youth, and outcasts
This chaplet has 24 beads to honor each year of St. Kateri's life.
St. Kateri was born in what is now northeastern New York state in 1656, and was the daughter of a Mohawk warrior. Her mother died of smallpox when Kateri was 4 years old, and the disease left Kateri with impaired vision and a scarred face. She was often called, "She who bumps into things".
Kateri converted into Christianity as a teenager, and was taught the catechism by Father Jacques de Lamberville. She requested to be baptized in 1675, and Fr. Lamberville baptized her on Easter in 1676 when Kateri was age 20. He baptized her with the name Catherine (in honor of St. Catherine of Siena), and Catherine is Kateri in her language. Kateri received communion the next year, and made an inner vow to be a virgin to the Lord and rejected marriage proposals.
Her conversion caused her to be persecuted and rejected by her tribe and relatives. She left her village and joined a a group of Iroquois women who were at the Saint-Francois-Xavier mission, which was several hundred kilometers from her village. She was very devout. A Jesuit priest wrote of her piety, that even in bitter cold she would wake up early and wait outside the chapel doors to pray before the Eucharist. She died at age 24 after a long illness. Those present said that all of the deep scars on her face disappeared when she died. At her funeral, many people who were sick were healed. Her relics now reside in the sanctuary of Kahnawake.
She was beatified in 1980 by St. Pope John Paul II, and canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI after a miracle attributed to her intercession. She is the first indigenous saint of North America.
This chaplet has 24 beads to honor each year of St. Kateri's life.
St. Kateri was born in what is now northeastern New York state in 1656, and was the daughter of a Mohawk warrior. Her mother died of smallpox when Kateri was 4 years old, and the disease left Kateri with impaired vision and a scarred face. She was often called, "She who bumps into things".
Kateri converted into Christianity as a teenager, and was taught the catechism by Father Jacques de Lamberville. She requested to be baptized in 1675, and Fr. Lamberville baptized her on Easter in 1676 when Kateri was age 20. He baptized her with the name Catherine (in honor of St. Catherine of Siena), and Catherine is Kateri in her language. Kateri received communion the next year, and made an inner vow to be a virgin to the Lord and rejected marriage proposals.
Her conversion caused her to be persecuted and rejected by her tribe and relatives. She left her village and joined a a group of Iroquois women who were at the Saint-Francois-Xavier mission, which was several hundred kilometers from her village. She was very devout. A Jesuit priest wrote of her piety, that even in bitter cold she would wake up early and wait outside the chapel doors to pray before the Eucharist. She died at age 24 after a long illness. Those present said that all of the deep scars on her face disappeared when she died. At her funeral, many people who were sick were healed. Her relics now reside in the sanctuary of Kahnawake.
She was beatified in 1980 by St. Pope John Paul II, and canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI after a miracle attributed to her intercession. She is the first indigenous saint of North America.