Biography
Kateri was born in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon (now New York state). A smallpox epidemic when she was four killed her parents and brother, and left her with facial scars and poor eyesight. She was adopted by her uncle, a Mohawk chief. Influenced by French Jesuit missionaries, she embraced Catholicism at age 19, taking the name Kateri (Catherine). Her conversion caused her to be shunned and threatened by her tribe. To practice her faith freely, she fled 200 miles to a Christian native village near Montreal. There, she lived a life of intense prayer, penance, and care for the elderly and sick. She took a vow of perpetual virginity. Fifteen minutes after her death at age 24, her smallpox scars miraculously vanished, leaving her face radiantly beautiful.
Miracles & Signs
- ✦The immediate clearing of her smallpox scars upon her death
- ✦Healing of Jake Finkbonner from flesh-eating bacteria in 2006 (Canonization miracle)
Wisdom & Quotes
“I am not my own; I have given myself to Jesus. He must be my only love.”
“Who will teach me what is most pleasing to God, that I may do it?”