Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
The Lily of the Mohawks
(1656-1680)
Catechetical Activity
Ages 9-11
Image: Pantheon / Superstock
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Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680)
Materials Needed: Copies of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha’s biography (short version),
copies of worksheets, pencils, and pencil crayons.
Gathering:
1. Have a short discussion with the children about peer pressure in society –
how you might do something (or not do something) because of other peoples’
influence.
2. Ask for children to name some examples of things you might do because of
peer pressure. What are some examples of things you might not do because
of peer pressure?
3. Ask the children how we might overcome peer pressures in society? How can
we ensure that we do the right thing?
Listening:
1. Introduce Saint Kateri Tekakwitha to the children and tell them that she is
also known as the ‘Lily of the Mohawks’. Ask the children to think about why
she might be known as ‘Lily of the Mohawks’ as they listen to the short
biography.
2. Read aloud the description of the life of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (short
version on page 3).
3. Ask the children why they think she is also known as ‘Lily of the Mohawks’.
Have a short discussion with the children, talking about the symbolism of
the lily (chastity, virtue and devotion) and also the fact that her father was
a Mohawk chief – thus making her known as the ‘Lily of the Mohawks’.
4. Discuss with the students the reasons why Kateri’s family did not support
her pursuing the Christian religion. Why do you think they were not
supportive? What made her continue praying?
5. Provide each child with a copy of the text so they may read it independently.
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Doing:
1. Working in small groups, have the children use their copy of the text to
compile facts about Saint Kateri’s life and fill in the charts on the
worksheets (pages 4-5).
2. In the same groups, have the students write a short prayer to Saint Kateri
Tekakwitha, keeping in mind the qualities which make her a Saint
(determination, devotion to prayer, etc.). Encourage groups to be creative
and decorate their prayer on the sheet provided (page 6).
Going:
1. Bring the session to a close by asking for a group to volunteer to read their
prayer to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.
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Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680)
Feast Day: April 17
Her Life
Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon (today
Auriesville, New York). Her mother was a member of the Algonquin First Nation and her
father was an Iroquois chief. When Kateri was four, a smallpox epidemic killed her
mother, father and younger brother, leaving Kateri with impaired vision and a scarred
complexion. An uncle and some aunts raised her. Her eyes were hyper-sensitive to light,
so people named her “Tekakwitha”, meaning “she who gropes her way” or “she who bumps
into things.”
In 1666, French troops were sent out to subdue the Mohawks, and with the people of her
village Kateri spent a winter hiding out in the forest. At the nearby Saint Pierre de
Gandaouagué Mission she met Jesuit missionaries; she was struck by their friendliness
and their piety. Back at Ossernenon, she kept active with domestic chores and was good
at beadwork, making moccasins and shirts and collars. She also went into the fields to
help pick fruit and vegetables.
To the dismay of her aunts and uncle, she refused the ususal life path of accepting an
offer of marriage. When Father Jacques de Lamberville, S./J., visited her area in 1675,
she asked to be baptized. He taught her the faith for six months and baptized her on
Easter Sunday, 1676. For more than a year, her family made her life difficult and
sometimes deprived her of food because she refused to work on Sundays. They threw
pebbles at her as she made her way to the chapel to pray. Father Lamberville encouraged
her to go to live in a First Nations Christian community, the Saint-François-Xavier
Mission. Here she lived with other Christians. She made her first communion at Christmas
in 1677. She would spend hours in prayer in the chapel. During the winter hunt, she
continued to pray while she helped with the work. She made a prayer space by hanging a
cross in a tree near a creek. Her relatives continued pressuring her to get married, but
she dreamt of founding a First Nations community of consecrated life.
Though still young, Kateri suffered from migraines, fever and stomach troubles. She died
on April 17, 1680, at the age of 24. She was beatified by Pope (now Saint) John Paul II in
1980 and canonized on October 21, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.
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Her Spirituality
Kateri was a hard worker, leading a quiet life because of her limited vision, but helping
her community with the harvest, wood-gathering, sewing, hunting, and cooking.
She practically lived in the chapel. She would arrive at four in the morning and attend the
Mass at dawn and another at sunset.
She prayed with great fervour and developed an inner life in which love surged forth and
sought to find expression with others. She prayed that her people would welcome the
love of God that infused her life, and that they would come to know God the way she did.
She is also known as “Lily of the Mohawks”.
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Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680)
Facts of Saint Kateri
Tekakwitha’s Life
Year of Birth: _____________________
Place of Birth: ____________________
Number of Siblings: _______________
Year of Death: ____________________
Age at Death: _____________________
Feast Day Celebrated: ____________
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Saint Kateri Tekakwitha’s Sainthood
Kateri learned the faith from: ________________________________
Date of Baptism: ______________________________
Date of First Communion: _______________________
Date of Beatification: ___________________________
Date of Canonization: ___________________________
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha is also known as: _____________________
Obstacles Overcome by Saint Kateri
Tekakwitha
Saint Kateri overcame a lot of obstacles and challenges in her short
life. Below, describe three different challenges that Kateri
overcame:
1. ____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
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Prayer to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
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