Easter Sunday Mass celebrated on 350th Anniversary of St. Kateri’s Baptism
Pilgrims braved the cold in the unheated St. Peter’s Chapel at the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site in Fonda, New York on Easter Sunday. While Easter Sunday is always the high point of the Church year, those huddled at the Shrine were celebrating a renewal of baptismal promises on a very special anniversary.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha was baptized on that very historic site 350 years ago this Easter Sunday. The spring where her baptismal water was drawn from still flows on the site today.
“Today, we stand on holy ground,” said Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv., who serves as Minister Provincial for Our Lady of the Angels Province. “Holy ground made sacred not only by the Resurrection of Jesus, but by the faith of a young Mohawk woman who was baptized 350 years ago this very day, along with two other native believers. What a grace and what a providence that this Easter and this anniversary meet for one single moment of joy.”
In addition to Mass on Easter morning, pilgrims took part in a smudging ceremony, a Native American tradition for purifying and healing.
Incorporating Native American traditions is routine at the Shrine, as the site’s historical significance – the site of the Caughnawaga National Historic Site (a Mohawk Village) – and natural beauty, the Shrine often attracts pilgrims who have not previously attended Catholic Masses.
“It was an honor to host so many for such a significant anniversary,” said Melissa Bramble, Director of Operations at the Shrine. “We’re looking forward to welcoming many more through the rest of this Franciscan Jubilee and Baptismal Anniversary year.”
The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site is stewarded by the Franciscan Friars Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province and supported by the Companions of St. Anthony. Thousands of pilgrims visit the Shrine every year for Mass, special events, and to visit this historic Mohawk Village or walk through the expansive grounds. Shrine events embrace St. Kateri’s love for creation, solidarity with the poor, and peacemaking, in harmony with the charism of St. Francis.
St. Kateri was born to a Mohawk chief and Christian Algonquin woman in 1656. Contracting smallpox at an early age, St. Kateri was left with scarred skin and poor eyesight. Her Mohawk name, Tekakwitha, means “she who bumps into things.”
She began learning about the Catholic faith when Jesuit missionaries entered her Mohawk village in her teenage years. She was later baptized on Easter Sunday 1676, taking the name Catherine, which she chose in honor of St. Catherine of Sienna. Kateri is the Mohawk form of that name.
She died in 1680 in her early twenties. She was canonized as a saint in October 2012. She continues to be a light for those seeking peace, healing, and intercultural encounters.
To learn more about the Saint Kateria Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site, click here.