<p>Tekakwitha was born in 1656, on the southern bank of the Mohawk River at Osserneon (Auriesville, NY). Her mother was a Christian Algonquin from Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and her father was a non-Christian Mohawk Turtle chief. When she was four years old, a smallpox epidemic killed her parents and her brother, and left her with seriously impaired eyesight and a disfigured face.</p>
<p>Inspired by Jesuit missionaries from an early age, Tekakwitha was baptized on Easter Sunday 1676 and assumed the name Kateri, probably in honour of Saint Catherine of Siena. The following year, due to persecution in her community, Kateri escaped to Kahnawake on the Saint Lawrence River opposite Tiohtiake (Montreal). She had a strong devotion to the eucharist and a deep concern for others. She died on April 17 1680 and was beatified in 1980. The first Native American to be beatified, she is called the "Lily of the Mohawks" and the "Apostle of the Indians."©2011 <em>Living with Christ, </em>Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., <strong>http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/</strong>. Reprinted with permission.</p>
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