On the sacred ground of Auriesville once the site of martyrdom for Jesuit missionaries — Saint Kateri Tekakwitha was born. Known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” she was the first Native American to be canonized by the Catholic Church, her life serving as a powerful witness to faith, perseverance, and holiness in the face of suffering.

This story is part of our “Saints of New York” series, which highlights the lives of saints with deep ties to New York’s Catholic history.

Beth Lynch, a historian and pilgrimage coordinator at the Shrine of Our Lady of the North American Martyrs, shares Kateri’s story with reverence and detail. She describes how Kateri, born in 1656 to a Mohawk chief and a Christian Algonquin mother, came into the world amid tribal conflict and colonial tensions. As a young child, a smallpox outbreak devastated her village, claiming her parents and younger brother and leaving her disfigured and nearly blind. She was renamed “Tekakwitha,” meaning “she who bumps into things.”

Despite this trauma, a deep spiritual curiosity grew within her. When Jesuit missionaries — known to the Mohawks as “the black robes” — arrived in her village, Kateri was drawn to their message of faith, love, and mercy. Though she was not formally catechized at first, she listened closely to the stories of Christ and the witness of Christian villagers around her.

At age 20, despite opposition from her uncle and community, Kateri was baptized. She embraced a life of prayer, service, and devotion to the Eucharist. Her refusal to work on Sundays or enter into marriage brought ridicule and threats, yet she remained steadfast. Before dawn, she would wait outside the chapel doors in the snow, longing to be close to the Blessed Sacrament.

At 24, Kateri died during Holy Week after receiving Viaticum. Her final words were the names of Jesus and Mary. Immediately following her death, reports of healings, visions, and miracles began to spread. Over the centuries, pilgrims have traveled to her birthplace in Auriesville seeking strength and healing through her intercession.

In 1980, Pope John Paul II beatified her, and on October 21, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI canonized her as a saint.

As Beth Lynch explains in this story, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha is a powerful reminder that holiness can take root anywhere, even in the most difficult circumstances.