Two American Women to be Canonized

At this morning's Consistory of Cardinals, the Holy Father announced that

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha who was born in 1656 at Ossernenon (today Auriesville, USA) and who died at Sault (Canada) April 17, 1680,

and Sister Maria Anna Cope (in the world: Barbara), a professed religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis in Syracuse (New York, USA), and known as Mother Marianne of Molokai, who was born in Heppenheim (Germania) January 23, 1838, and who died at Molokai (USA) August 9, 1918

be canonised on Sunday October 21, 2012.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha to be canonised - the first Native American Saint!

I was delighted to hear this news on local Public Radio this morning. I have blogged before about Blessed Kateri.

Barbara Bradley Hagerty/NPR. Jake Finkbonner, shown with his
father, Donny, and mother, Elsa, nearly died after contracting
a flesh-eating bacterium. His family and friends prayed for a
miracle, and now the Vatican has declared that his recovery
was considered a miracle by the church.

The canonisation can take place thanks to a miracle attributed to Blessed Kateri's intercession by which a young American boy of Native American descent Jake Finkbonner recovered from a flesh-eating bacteria that nearly killed him. Further details can be read at The Bellingham Herald (h/t to The Deacon's Bench).

Here is the Vatican's Press Release:

VATICAN CITY, 20 DEC 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father yesterday signed decrees acknowledging miracles attributed to the intervention of seven blesseds (four women and three men) who will shortly be canonised. One of the new blesseds is Kateri Tekakwitha, the first native North American to be raised to the glory of the altars.

Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in Ossernenon (present-day Auriesville, U.S.A.). Her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother a Roman Catholic Algonquian who had been educated by French missionaries. At the age of four she lost her family in a smallpox epidemic which also left her disfigured and with poor eyesight. Adopted by a relative, the chief of neighbouring clan, she continued to nurture an interest in Christianity and was baptised at the age of 20.

The members of her tribe did not understand her new religious affiliation and she was marginalised, practising physical mortification as a path of sanctity and praying for the conversion of her relatives. Having suffered persecutions which put her life at risk, she was forced to flee to a native American Christian community in Kahnawake, Quebec where she made a vow of chastity and lived a life dedicated to prayer, penance, and care for the sick and elderly. She died in 1680 at the age of 24. Her last words were: "Jesus, I love you". According to tradition, Kateri's scars disappeared after her death to reveal a woman of great beauty, and numerous sick people who participated in her funeral were miraculously healed.

The process of canonisation began in 1884. She was declared venerable by Pius XII in 1943 and beatified by John Paul II in 1980. As the first native North American to be beatified she occupies a special place in the devotion of her people. Her feast day falls on 14 July.

Hello World

The last time I posted was a few days after arriving at my new parish of St Anthony in Gwinn, MI. I have been very busy getting acquainted with parish and parishioners. I have to inform my readers that I am extremely happy with the appointment. Parishioners have been most welcoming. My predecessor, Father Ron Timock, has left the parish in a very good state spiritually. Under his stewardship this somewhat modern church was reordered according to a much more traditional line. There are many statues, a fine tabernacle (which used to be at St Peter's Cathedral Marquette) centrally positioned, "Benedictine" arrangement of crucifix and candles on the altar, and the people are accustomed to a liturgy celebrated with dignity and reverence.

I am still wondering when I shall have my first battle. So far it all seems plain sailing in that people are just so willing to promote evangelisation, faith formation for the young and adult, etc. There is all day Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Mondays from after the 10:00am Mass until 10:00 pm. I was very pleasantly surprised by the number of people who came for Benediction at 9:45pm last Monday.

As with so many parishes here in the US there is a memorial to the victims of abortion in the lovely grounds:

You can see the very nice rectory in the background.

I am also responsible for St Joseph's Mission in Northland some 25 miles away. I go there every Sunday for Mass at 9am. Again, there is a wonderful group of parishioners, all committed to the welfare of the parish and accustomed to a reverent and respectful liturgy.

During the past week at St Anthony's there was a Vacation Bible Study for young children. As well as the Bible they had the opportunity to learn something about the saints who were celebrated during the week. Here's a slide show of photos taken on the feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks:


You can read our parish bulletins here. My first two issues are 10th July and 17th July. I am working on renewing the presentation but you'll get a flavour of how things are.

I hope to start posting on more serious topics now that I have my feet under the desk. There are so many troubling things going on: the excommunication of the newly ordained bishop in China, the continuing fallout from the abuse scandal in Ireland, to name but a few. Wheat and cockle (this Sunday's Gospel) come to mind. I hope to give some comment. But first I must inform myself. I have hardly looked at a blog for the last fortnight (two weeks for my American readers).

North American Martyrs Shrine, Aurisville, NY

Not far from Fonda and the Kateri Shrine is Aurisville and the shrine to the North American Martyrs. Blessed Kateri was born at this place in Aurisville. The martyrs honoured here are:

St Jean de Brebeuf SJ, known as the Apostle of the Hurons, martyred on March 16, 1649 at St Ignace here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

St Isaac Jogues SJ, martyred at Aurisville by Iroquois indians on Oct. 18 1646.

St Gabriel Lalemant SJ, a companion of Jean de Brebeuf, martyred on March 17, 1649 at St Ignace.

St Antoine Daniel SJ, martyred by the Iroquois at Mount St Louis in Canada on July 4, 1648.

St Charles Garnier SJ, martyred by the Iroquois at Etharita in Canada on Dec. 7, 1649.

St Noel Chabanel SJ, martyred by an apostate Huron in Canada on Dec. 8 1649.

St Rene Goupil SJ, martyred for making the sign of the cross on a little Mohawk child at Aurisville on Sep. 29, 1642.

St Jean de LaLande SJ, a companion of Isaac Jogues, martyred at Aurisville on Oct. 19, 1646.

A brief bio of each of the Saints of Aurisville can be read here.

The shrine is set on a hill overlooking the beautiful Mohawk river and valley. Some pics in the slide show following. (Just click on the slideshow at any time to see the pictures in greater detail.)

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Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 - 1680)

Church of the Annunciation, Ilion NY

I'm going back over my summer vacation photos. While on vacation in Vermont I took the opportunity of driving over to Ilion in New York State to visit another English priest abroad, like me of the Southwark archdiocese, Father Anthony Barratt. Fr Anthony has been pastor of the Annunciation Parish at Ilion in the diocese of Albany for some six years. He is also Dean of Herkimer County and lectures on various theological subjects.

Interior of the church.

Prior to that he was Vice Rector of St John's Seminary, Wonersh. So we were staff members of the seminary at the same time. Father Anthony celebrated 25 years of priesthood towards the end of July.

Some of the parish team after morning coffee.

Fr Anthony, yours truly, and a retired priest who lives nearby. I'm afraid I cannot now recall his name but he struck me very much by the warmth of his welcome, his evident holiness and dedication to the people in hearing confessions, and not treting retirement as a time off from priesthood, always celebrating or concelebrating Mass daily.

Well, none of this has much to do with Blessed Kateri, except that about 40 miles East of Ilion along the Mohawk River is the National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda, NY, where she was baptised. You can read Kateri's story here.

She is a remarkable young saint who paid the cost of being a disciple of Christ in having to leave her homeland to join a settlement of Christian Indians in Canada. I blogged about her earlier this summer.

  A board explains a little of the history of the site.

 A candle chapel where people can leave votive candles burning for their intentions before a statue of Blessed Kateri.

 

 Exterior of the main shrine church.

If you plan to visit, go straight upstairs to the church, unless you are really interested in some Indian history in which case you can visit the museum downstairs. To be honest I did not find if of much interest.

 Interior of the shrine church.

The church has a Kateri chapel at the back with devotional items, presumably left by the faithful:

Of interest are some depictions of her life painted on the beams of the roof.

  1675: Fr James DeLamberville SJ visits Kateri at Fonda.

 

 Baptism of Blessed Kateri on Easter Sunday (April 5th) 1676

1676: Kateri refuses forced marriage.

 1677: Blessed Kateri flees to a village of Christian Indians at Caughnawaga, Canada

Prayer for the Canonisation of Blessed Kateri:

O God, who among the many marvels of your grace in the new world did cause to blossom on the banks of the Mohawk and the St Lawrence the pure and tender lily Kateri Tekakwitha, grant we beseech you, the favor we beg through her intercession, that this young lover of Jesus and of his cross may soon be counted among her Saints by the Holy Mother Church, and that our hearts may be enkindled with a stronger desire to imitate her innocence and faith. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 - 1680)

Today the American Church celebrates its first Native American beata. The Gospel of today's Mass reads:

'I bless you, Father, Lord or heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.' (Mt 11:25 - Jerusalem Bible)

These words could not be more appropriate for today's commemoration. Here are some details about Blessed Kateri from AmericanCatholic.org.

The blood of martyrs is the seed of saints. Nine years after the Jesuits Isaac Jogues and John de Brébeuf were tomahawked by Iroquois warriors, a baby girl was born near the place of their martyrdom, Auriesville, New York.

Her mother was a Christian Algonquin, taken captive by the Iroquois and given as wife to the chief of the Mohawk clan, the boldest and fiercest of the Five Nations. When she was four, Kateri lost her parents and little brother in a smallpox epidemic that left her disfigured and half blind. She was adopted by an uncle, who succeeded her father as chief. He hated the coming of the Blackrobes (Jesuit missionaries), but could do nothing to them because a peace treaty with the French required their presence in villages with Christian captives. She was moved by the words of three Blackrobes who lodged with her uncle, but fear of him kept her from seeking instruction. She refused to marry a Mohawk brave and at 19 finally got the courage to take the step of converting. She was baptized with the name Kateri (Catherine) on Easter Sunday.

Now she would be treated as a slave. Because she would not work on Sunday, she received no food that day. Her life in grace grew rapidly. She told a missionary that she often meditated on the great dignity of being baptized. She was powerfully moved by God’s love for human beings and saw the dignity of each of her people.

She was always in danger, for her conversion and holy life created great opposition. On the advice of a priest, she stole away one night and began a 200-mile walking journey to a Christian Indian village at Sault St. Louis, near Montreal.

For three years she grew in holiness under the direction of a priest and an older Iroquois woman, giving herself totally to God in long hours of prayer, in charity and in strenuous penance. At 23 she took a vow of virginity, an unprecedented act for an Indian woman, whose future depended on being married. She found a place in the woods where she could pray an hour a day—and was accused of meeting a man there!

Her dedication to virginity was instinctive: She did not know about religious life for women until she visited Montreal. Inspired by this, she and two friends wanted to start a community, but the local priest dissuaded her. She humbly accepted an “ordinary” life. She practiced extremely severe fasting as penance for the conversion of her nation. She died the afternoon before Holy Thursday. Witnesses said that her emaciated face changed color and became like that of a healthy child. The lines of suffering, even the pockmarks, disappeared and the touch of a smile came upon her lips. She was beatified in 1980.

Comment:

We like to think that our proposed holiness is thwarted by our situation. If only we could have more solitude, less opposition, better health. Kateri repeats the example of the saints: Holiness thrives on the cross, anywhere. Yet she did have what Christians—all people—need: the support of a community. She had a good mother, helpful priests, Christian friends. These were present in what we call primitive conditions, and blossomed in the age-old Christian triad of prayer, fasting and alms: union with God in Jesus and the Spirit, self-discipline and often suffering, and charity for her brothers and sisters.

Quote:

Kateri said: “I am not my own; I have given myself to Jesus. He must be my only love. The state of helpless poverty that may befall me if I do not marry does not frighten me. All I need is a little food and a few pieces of clothing. With the work of my hands I shall always earn what is necessary and what is left over I’ll give to my relatives and 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 am sure.”

When I came to Marquette last summer, my brother and I visited the church dedicated to Blessed Kateri in Bay Mills which is in a Native American (Indian) reservation and met the pastor Father Theodore.

Yours truly, Father Theodore and Father George Vaniyapurackal, a priest friend from India who is working here in the Marquette diocese. When he introduced himself to a parishioner and said 'I'm Indian' the parishioner said: 'I'm and Indian too!'

Statue of Blessed Kateri inside the church.

Relic of Blessed Kateri.

The church.