ST. KATERI TEKAKWITHA
Native American from the Turtle Clan, she was known as 'Lily of the Mohawks'.
Kateri Tekakwitha, known as “the Lily of the Mohawk”, was born in 1656 of a captive Algonquin mother and an Iroquois chieftain. Her mother was a Christian but dared not baptize Kateri or her younger brother. When an epidemic of smallpox broke out in 1660, the little girl lost her mother and brother, perhaps also her father at that time; she herself nearly succumbed to the malady.
Her uncle, who adopted her, later wanted her to marry a young Iroquois her own age, but she refused, having already experienced the horror of the Iroquois brutalities. When in 1675 Father Jacques de Lamberville, Jesuit missionary, discovered on the banks of the Mohawk River this “beautiful lily”, he transplanted her to the mission of St. Francis Xavier near Montreal, which had been founded a few years before. She received her first Communion there on Christmas day of 1676.
In 1679, on the feast of the Annunciation, with the authorization of one of the Fathers at the mission, Kateri privately pronounced a vow of perpetual chastity and consecrated herself to the Blessed Virgin. From that time on, she and her rosary were inseparable. Her health had never been strong, and her penances contributed to weakening it further. It was during Holy Week of 1680 that this young Indian maiden quietly expired, invoking the names of Jesus and Mary. Miracles and favors were attributed to her soon after her death.
I created this bracelet with much love and admiration to St. Kateri Tekakwitha- using turquoise, copper, story teller charm, Zuni bear and horse beads made with gemstones. Catholic medals used are: St. Joan of Arc, St. Padre Pio, St. Vincent de Paul, St. John of God, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Pope John Paul II and Our Lady of Guadalupe.
For my Catholic jewelry visit www.letyscreations.com
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