A Mohawk Indian woman who became famous as the "Lily of the Mohawks." She was also called "the Indian Saint" and was the first Indian to become a Catholic nun.
Catherine, or Kateri as she is sometimes called, was born in 1656 at Caugnahwaga, a palisaded town on the Mohawk River above Auriesville, New York. When she was twelve years old some Jesuit priest visited her village and stopped with her uncle, a bitter opponent of Christianity. however, the uncle, with whom Catherine lived, offered them the traditional Indian hospitality and the young girl waited on the priests, gaining her first knowledge of Christian faith and practice.
When on Easter Sunday, 1675, Catherine was baptized by Father Lamberville, she became the object of contempt and derision to many of her tribe. Her refusal to marry angered her aunt. When she observed the Sabbath and refused to work in the cornfields on that day, she was denied food and stoned. A young Mohawk warrior became so angered at her that he raised his tomahawk menacingly over her head. But the young girl awaited the blow with such calmness that the warrior became ashamed and slunk away.
Two years later some Catholic Christian Iroquois visited the village and, finding the young girl persecuted, carried her away in a canoe to Sault Saint Louis. Later she visited Montreal, took the vow of chastity, and became a nun.
Following Catherine's death on April 17, 1680, a priest while at prayer "had a vision in which Catherine arrayed in glory appeared to him." Both Indians and whites came to visit her tomb near the La Chine Rapids on the St. Lawrence River, and it was claimed that many who were sick became well. A memorial cross was erected to her at Auriesville, New York; and at St. Joseph's, Dunwoodie, New York, a statue stands in memory of her.
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