Photo: Icon of St. Kateri Tekakwitha at St. Joseph's Mission Church, which serves Native American Catholics.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680), known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” was the first Indigenous North American to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. Orphaned at age four by a smallpox outbreak that left her partially blind and badly scarred, she later chose to convert, dedicating her life to prayer, and she remains a powerful symbol of faith and Indigenous resilience.
