Sainthood status being sought for Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Affirmation of the cultural and spiritual heritage of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, for whom the Catholic Church in Peshawbestown is named, is the focus of the 68th Annual National Conference of the Kateri Circle slated later this year in Bethesda, Md.

Members of the local Kateri Circle, a group of about 20 supporting her sainthood, are planning to attend.

“This year the conference is Maryland, which is ‘driveable’ for us,” circle member Donna Swallows said.

The group, similar to altar societies or womens’ guilds organized in churches elsewhere, gathers five or six times a year.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, known as “Lily of the Mohawks” or “Genevieve of New France,” was a convert to Christianity who took a vow of chastity. She was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 1980, and was the first Native American proposed for canonization in the church.

Kateri, known as the patroness of ecology and the environment, was born near the town Auriesville in upstate New York in 1656. Her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother was a Catholic Algonquin. At age 4, smallpox took the lives or her parents and baby brother, and left her an orphan. Although forever weakened, scarred and partially blinded by the disease, she survived.

Her limited sight required Kateri to feel her way around as she walked. She was then named “Tekakwitha,” which means “The One Who Walks Groping for Her Way.”

According to an essay by the bishop of Albany, N.Y., which was recently published in the Grand Traverse Band News, Kateri was not baptized as an infant. She did, however, have fond memories of her prayerful mother and stories of Catholic faith she shared. At age 18, Tekakwitha attended religious instructions under Jesuit missionaries and was baptized three years later and given the name of Kateri, which is Mohawk for “Catherine.”

Plagued her entire life by poor health, she died at age 24. Moments after her death, her scarred and disfigured face miraculously cleared. The miracle was witnessed by two Jesuits and others.

“To my knowledge, another miracle has to be attributed to her for the Church to name her a saint,” Swallows said.

In addition to community service projects that provide financial support of religious instruction for catechists, members of the Peshawbestown Kateri Circle sponsor the annual “Return of the Three Kings Feast,” which this year is scheduled for April 14.

Unique to Native American populations here and near Harbor Springs, planning for the feast begins months in advance with the selection of “kings.”

Cynthia Chippewa of Suttons Bay prepared “fry bread” bundles shared after Mass Jan. 7. Three coins were placed in the bundles — a quarter, dime and a penny. In others, nine beans were baked. The coins designate the “three kings” and the beans represent their helpers.

The next step is for kings and helpers to shake hands with a member of the opposite sex. The 12 pairs of people are responsible for providing food for the feast, with the kings covering the cost.

According to a church bulletin from 1991, it was on Ogima-Gijigad or “King Day” that naming ceremonies were held in Peshawbestown years ago followed by dances. A raffle has been included as an added attraction. This year, proceeds from the raffle will fund the Circle’s trip to the national conference.

Proceeds from an Indian Taco Sale set after 10 a.m. Mass, April 29 will also support the trip to the national conference, June 27 through July 1. Indian tacos are fry bread, covered either with ground beef or chili, topping with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.