Today, July 14, 2021 is the feast day for St. Kateri Tekakwitha that holds a deep personal meaning for me. When I was younger, I took the journey to discovering my confirmation saint diligently. This was back in 1999, when Wikipedia was not considered a viable source of information and we were still flipping through encyclopedias. As I was researching saints, I kept coming across the cause for canonization regarding then Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. Yahoo (no Google back then) kept directing me to EWTN for more information about her. Since my grandma watched EWTN, I figured well that was a good enough reason to trust the source of information.

My first struggle was saying her name out loud. I figure she'll thump me in the back of the head for saying it wrong all these years when I get to heaven. I ended up finding some good sources and started to learn about Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. She was the daughter of a Mohawk chief and her mother Kahenta, an Algonquin woman, who had been captured in a raid, then adopted and assimilated into the tribe. Kahenta entered the tribe already having been baptized Catholic and educated by French missionaries. When Tekakwitha was around four years old, her baby brother and both her parents died of smallpox. Kateri survived but was left with facial scars and impaired eyesight. It was when I found out that the name they gave her then was “Tekakwitha” which actually means “she who bumps into things,” I knew she was my patron saint right there, but I kept learning about her.

Her father’s sister and her husband, a chief of the Turtle Clan, adopted her. The Jesuits’ account of Tekakwitha said that she was a modest girl who avoided social gatherings; she covered much of her head with a blanket because of the smallpox scars. They said that, as an orphan, the girl was under the care of uninterested relatives. At 13 they tried to marry her off, but she refused. Her aunt’s grew concerned over her lack of interest in marriage. When she was 17 her aunt’s invited her to a meal. Unbeknownst to Kateri they had instructed a young man to sit next to her and express interest in marriage. She refused and hid in the woods from her family. She was punished and given harsher workloads, but she continued to resist marriage. Eventually her aunt’s gave up and at 18 years old she met the Jesuit priest who was visiting the village. She told him her story and her desire to become a Christian. She then started studying the catechism. When she was 19 she was baptized and chose the name Catherine after St. Catherine of Siena (in her native tongue, Kateri).

“Who will teach me what is most pleasing to God, that I may do it?” - Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

Growing up as the oldest grandson, I was always asked by my grandmother “Do you have a girlfriend yet?” to which I would reply “no” and then she would say, “I’ll get you one.” In some ways… a lot of ways… she would try to play matchmaker, never with my permission. When I finally asked her to stop, she would say “Oh, you’ll be my priest then.” I related to Kateri. I was trying to understand things about myself and my faith and other people in my life had an idea of how I should be behaving. I always felt my grandmother's efforts were well intentioned, but I definitely wanted to hide sometimes… most of the time. Especially when my grandmother would approach me right before mass with a young woman under her right arm saying, “I found one for you” and encourage us to sit together. I can still remember the embarrassment I felt… for all of us.

Back then, I was also trying to understand what it meant to be Catholic and why I should care about it personally. Praying the rosary, asking questions, and trying to find solid information online since that was at my fingertips. Kateri was someone ridiculed for her piety and I related to her on some level. I remember asking if a guy could choose a female saint to be my confirmation saint and later being told it was okay. I then had to ask if we could choose a blessed (since she was not yet a saint) and it turned out that was also allowed.

The last time we went to the March for Life in Washington D.C, I was able to visit the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and saw that there is a statue of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha:

A tour guide was standing near the statue and I asked her if she knew more about the statue itself. She told me she didn't work here and was just waiting for her group to get out of mass before continuing their tour. She didn’t even know who the statue represented. I shared with her the story of what the name Tekakwitha actually meant and how she was my confirmation saint. She thought I was making it up (which I can’t blame her in the grand scheme of things). I told her to go ahead and Google it (since we have that now) and that the story of this woman really influenced my faith when I was younger and those pieces stuck with me.

This picture is from my office bookshelf:



I found the above statue in the gift shop while at the Basilica and knew I had to buy it. There is definitely more to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha’s life and faith journey. The lives of the saints really show us positive examples of men and women that came before us that really strived toward holiness. If it was possible for them it is definitely possible for us. I encourage you to look into this wonderful saint whose story really helped me connect deeper in relationship with the Catholic church and my relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Here is a good start: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-kateri-tekakwitha

If your parish subscribes to Formed.org, you can listen to an audio book about her: https://watch.formed.org/videos/st-kateri-tekakwitha

Paul Blanchard is currently the Director of Social Media Outreach for the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi.