Area parishioners to visit Blessed Kateri shrine May 30

Sparta - Blessed Kateri Parish is sponsoring a trip to the Shrine of Blessed Kateri in Auriesville, N.Y., on Tuesday, May 30. Pilgrims will leave the church parking lot at 8:30 a.m. for the 3-½ to 4-hour trip upstate, and return in the early evening. Father Albert Nix will lead the group to Auriesville, 40 miles west of Albany, the birthplace of Kateri Tekakwitha. There they will tour the shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs, honoring three Jesuit martyr saints, and the various outdoor shrines of the unique Coliseum Church. Mass will be celebrated in the Kateri Chapel, where a blessing will be given with a relic of the “Lily of the Mohawks,” who was beatified in 1980 and is a candidate for sainthood. The group will also visit nearby Fonda, N.Y., to tour the Kateri Shrine, church museum and outdoor Stations of the Cross. Kateri Tekakwitha was born c. 1656, the daughter of a Mohawk war chief and a Christian Algonquin. In 1660, smallpox swept through her Mohawk settlement, leaving Tekakwitha (which means one who advances or cuts the way before her) orphaned, disfigured and partially blind. Raised by an uncle, she received the name Kateri, or Catherine, when she was received into the Catholic Church at age 19, against the wishes of her relatives. Her conversion also drew the ridicule of her tribe, forcing her to flee to the Jesuit mission of St. Xavier near Montreal, Canada. In 1679, Kateri vowed to lead a virgin life, and spent her days in prayer and meditation. She also continued to perform her daily tasks, sanctifying each menial chore with love and dedication to Christ. Witnesses to her death in 1680, noted that her body took on a lustrous radiance and the scars disappeared from her face. It is said that she appeared to various missionaries after her death, and favors believed to be the result of her intercession have been reported. She only requires one first-class miracle for canonization. Known as the “Lily of the Mohawks” for her saintly life, Kateri serves as a bridge between the Catholic faith and the modern Native Americans of this continent. The only parish in the Diocese of Paterson dedicated to the “Mohawk Maiden,” Blessed Kateri serves the communities of Sparta, Lake Mohawk and Byram, which are steeped in the Native American tradition, as is much of northwestern, New Jersey. The pilgrimage is open to non-church members. Cost of the trip will be determined by the number attending. Attendees are requested to bring a bag lunch. For information, call 973-729-1682.