Késsinnimek - Roots - RacinesMon Petit Coin by Norm Léveillée
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine
North American Martyrs Church
Auburn, Massachusetts
The parish is named the North American Martyrs Church and was founded in 1952 by Bishop (later Cardinal) John J. Wright on the site of an American Indian village on Pakachoag Hill, just two miles from the College of the Holy Cross and its Jesuit community; so he named the parish for the martyrs.
The founding pastor Father Thomas O'Rourke asked the town to change the name of the street from Old Pakachoag Street to Wyoma Drive - "Wymoma" being the Indian name for "Our Lady". The rectory address was changed to 8 Wyoma Drive in honor of the eight martyrs.
The article gives summary of the life of Kateri Tekakwitha, indicating that Tekakwitha's family was stricken by smallpox when she was four years old. The article mistakenly identifies the date of her baptism by Jesuit Jacques de Lamberville as 1667 (at 11 years old) instead of 1676, at age 20 years. The article does not mention her living in Caughnawaga (Fonda NY) from about age 5 through 20 - from 1661 through 1676, but does indicated that she lived a life of prayer and charity in a Christian community at St-Francis-Xavier, on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, near Montréal (present day Kahnawaké).
The article mentions that the first miracle associated with Kateri was witnessed by Jesuit Father Pierre Cholenec. The following is from the main page of my website site dedicated to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha:
Father Pierre Cholenec, a witness at her deathbed, states that at the time of her death Kateri's face "... so disfigured and so swarthy in life, suddenly changed about fifteen minutes after her death, and in an instant became so beautiful and so fair that just as soon as I saw it (I was praying by her side) I let out a yell, I was so astonished, and I sent for the priest who was working at the repository for the Holy Thursday service. At the news of this prodigy, he came running along with some people who were with him. We then had the time to contemplate this marvel right up to the time of her burial. I frankly admit that my first thought at the time was that Catherine could well have entered heaven at that moment and that she had -- as a preview -- already received in her virginal body a small indication of the glory of which her soul had taken possession in Heaven. Two Frenchmen from La Prairie de la Magdeleine came to the Sault on Thursday to be present at the service. They were passing by Catherine's cabin where, seing a woman lying on her mat and with such a beautiful and radiant face, they said to each other, Look at this young woman sleeping so peacefully and kept going. But, learning the next minute that it was a dead body, and that of Catherine, they returned to the cabin and went down on their knees to recommend themselves to her prayers. After having satisfied their devotion for having seen such a wonderful scene, they wished to show their veneration for the dead girl by constructing then and there a coffin to hold such cherished remains."[ From a translation by Fr. William Lonc, S.J., of Father Pierre Cholenec, S.J., Catherine Tekakwitha, Summer 2002, p. 50.]
Each July, a couple from Auburn places a pot of flowers at the base of the statue of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in front of the North American Martyrs Church at 8 Wyoma Drive. The white lilies, in honor of the "Lily of the Mohawks" are a thank-you for Kateri's help in giving the couple a healthy granddaughter.
Ten years ago, Kateri granted this couple a great favor. This couple's daughter had been having trouble with a pregnancy. The couple joined a group on a pilgrimage to Kateri's Shrine in Kahnawaké, Québec. A candle was lit at the tomb of Kateri in the church of St-Francis-Xavier. The daughter was blessed with a relic of Kateri. In 1994, this granddaughter was born, healthy and strong. Her family credits the intercession of Kateri Tekakwitha.
Throughout the article, reference is made to Kateri as a Mohawk princess. I have never heard this reference about Kateri. Kateri's age of 11 years old at her baptism probably came from the EWTV video on Kateri hosted by Bob and Penny Lord. The Franciscan friar who is interviewed by Penny Lord did agree with her statement that Kateri was 11 years old when she was baptized.
My research is based on every book written about Kateri Tekakwitha. The one document that is the most reliable is the life of Catherine Tekakwitha, written shortly after her death by the Jesuit Father Pierre Cholenec, who was her confessor. Another confessor was Jesuit Father Claude Chauchetière who painted the first portrait of Kateri and did write a short biography of her which he sent to his Jesuit superiors in Europe some ten years after her death.
The oldest portrait of Kateri Tekakwitha is an oil painting on canvas 41"x37" painted by Father Chauchetière between 1682-1693.
It hangs in the sacristy of St. Francis Xavier Church on the Kanawaké Mohawk Reservation
on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, near Montréal, Québec.
The oldest portrait of Kateri Tekakwitha is an oil painting on canvas 41"x37" painted by Father Chauchetière between 1682-1693.
It hangs in the sacristy of St. Francis Xavier Church on the Kanawaké Mohawk Reservation
on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, near Montréal, Québec.
There is much information on my website, dedicated to my cousin Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha at:
www.kateritekakwitha.org/kateri
The above story is based on my summary of an article written by Ellie Oleson, Correspondent, that appeared in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette on July 13, 2004. A request via email has been sent to the Telegram & Gazette for permission to use the article and the photo. 
Késsinnimek - Roots - Racines
Copyright © 2003 & 2004 Norm Léveillée
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Created 1 Feb 2003