by Sarah Hassenplug, Mohawk

Tekakwitha was the daughter of a Christian Algonquin mother and a non-Christian Mohawk Chief.

She was born in 1656 on the south bank of the Mohawk River, in a village called Ossernenon.

When she was four years old, a smallpox epidemic claimed the lives of her parents and baby brother. Their names are unknown.

Tekakwitha survived the disease but her eyesight was impaired. Her face was scarred and the disease left her weak the rest of her life. After about five years of the sickness, the survivors of the village moved to the north bank of the river to begin a new life. Tekakwitha and her relatives moved into the turtle clan village called Gandaouag ue ( Caughnawaga ) .

The first time she saw a priest was in 1667 when Fathers Fremin, Bruyas and Pierron visited Caughnawaga.

In 1670, St. Peter's Mission was established in Caughnawaga (Fonda, NY). A chapel was built inside one of the longhouses. In 1674, Fr. James de Lamberville took charge of St. Peter's Mission.

Tekakwitha met Father de Lamberville a year later when he visited her home. She told him about her desire to become baptized. She began to take religious instruction, and in 1676, April 5th, on Easter Sunday, she was baptized and given the name Kateri or Katherine.

In August of 1677, Kateri fled her village to go and live at Sault St. Louis, St. Francis Xavier Mission near Montreal. Two months later and about two hundred miles through woods, rivers and swamps, Kateri arrived at the Sault with the help of friends.

On Christmas Day, 1677, Kateri received her first Holy Communion.

During a winter hunt, Kateri was falsely accused of sinful relations with a hunter.

Mary Teresa (Tegaiaguenta) and Kateri became friends. Both girls performed extraordinary penances. Kateri and her friend asked permission to start a religious community. The request was denied.

In 1678, Kateri was enrolled in the pious society called The Holy Family because of her extraordinary practices of all virtues.