Tekakwitha unifies Catholic and American Indian identity
Cathryn Sprynczynatyk
Staff Writer
DANBURY — The parishioners of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Danbury, aren’t opposed to celebrating two patronesses. According to Fr. Michael Tupa they have adopted Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha as their secondary patroness.
“We’ve kind of taken on over the years the cause [for canonization] of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha as an honorary patron,” Fr. Tupa said.
The parishioners honored their secondary patroness with a celebration of her feast day on July 14. The celebration, which the parish plans to repeat next year, featured Mass, “Amazing Grace” sung in Ojibwe and jingle dress dancing by children from St. Francis Solanus School, Reserve. The children are from the Lac Courte Oreilles and St. Croix Ojibwe Tribes.
“[Blessed Kateri]’s being remembered at all the Masses throughout North America because she’s a wonderful example of how to follow Jesus,” Fr. Tupa said. “She’s one of those childlike spirits who follows Jesus in that way.”
Fr. John Drummy, former pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, worked with tribal elders to translate “Amazing Grace” into Ojibwe. Fr. Drummy, who was given the Indian name “Bearskin,” said the parish formerly bore a mural of Blessed Kateri behind the altar.
When Our Lady of Perpetual Help was established, it was the closest parish to the St. Croix Indian Reservation. Many of the original members were Native Americans, and the church still serves some American Indian parishioners. The parishioners honor Blessed Kateri with their parish hall, known as the “Kateri Room,” where the church displays a statue and image of the adopted patroness.
Blessed Kateri, known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” was the first Native American to be beatified. She was born in New York state of a Christian Algonquin mother and a Mohawk father in the 17th century. When she was 4 years old, smallpox killed her family and left Blessed Kateri disfigured and nearly blind.
At age 11, Blessed Kateri first came into contact with the Jesuit missionaries, called “blackrobes” by her people. Against the wishes of her tribe, she was baptized a Christian, taking the name Kateri, a Mohawk version of St. Catherine of Siena. She wanted to start a religious community for Native American girls, but was not allowed. Eventually, she moved to a settlement of Christian American Indians near Montreal and took a vow of perpetual virginity.
When Blessed Kateri died at age 24, the scars from smallpox are said to have vanished revealing a beautiful maiden. The last words she said were “Jesus, I love you.”
During her life, Blessed Kateri was known for her penitential practices, which mirrored established customs of the Mohawks. According to Sarah Cormell, who depicted Blessed Kateri at the celebration in Danbury, this is part of her appeal.
“She’s native, she’s Catholic, and she’s found a way to bring it all together as a whole person,” Cormell said.
Cormell is a member of the St. Croix Tribe, born and raised at Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation. She has been a parishioner at St. Francis Solanus since her childhood.
“[Blessed Kateri] was a role model for the love of Jesus for the native people,” Cormell said.
Sr. Felissa Zander, a School Sister of St. Francis, brought the jingle dress dancers to the celebration from St. Francis Solanus School. Earlier in the day Sr. Zander and the students honored the American Indian saint with a procession to a shrine in honor of Blessed Kateri. The sisters and students at the school pray together in Ojibwe.
“[Blessed Kateri] has so many virtues to follow,” Sr. Zander said, “helping the sick, purity, following Jesus.”
St. Francis Solanus student Bobbi Dennis, 9, agreed.
“She’s a role model to me because she was nice to everybody, and she didn’t do bad things,” Dennis said.
At the celebration, Cormell signed the actions for an Ojibwe interpretation of Psalm 23. The costume she wore to depict Blessed Kateri reflected Cormell’s own Ojibwe heritage. Her regalia included an eagle feather to represent Cormell’s clan; beadwork from her grandmother and from Sr. Zander; and a mink pelt trapped by her father.
“The animals and plants, we’re in connection together,” Cormell said. “We’re not above or below them; we all exist together.”
Cormell said Blessed Kateri unites the Catholic and Native American identity.
“To see one of your own be raised to that level, to see such devotion for God, for Jesus’ I don’t know how to explain it; [Blessed Kateri] brings it all together,” Cormell said.
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