Dedication of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

"We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars, in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair." (St. Francis of Assisi)

I just learned of the passing of Friar Kevin Kenny, OFM Conv., who was the director of the National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda, New York. I met him at the there in August 2004 and kept in touch for several years. Friar Kenny was a member of the Convectual Franciscans, an order of friars founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209.
My experiences in Assisi were life altering. May 24 is the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
When St. Francis died in October 1226, he was buried at St. George Church in the medieval town. It is now St. Clare of Assisi Chapel.
In 1230, his body was brought to a new church, and 23-years-later, Pope Innocent IV consecrated the Church of San Francesco which was later named a papal chapel and patriarchal basilica.

St. Katharine Drexel (Nov. 26, 1858 to March 3, 1955)

St. Katharine Drexel devoted her life to helping Native Americans and African Americans. She was born on Nov. 26, 1858 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a well-to-do family. She founded what was originially called Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. (It is now called Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament). In 1915, St. Katharine Drexel founded Xavier University in New Orleans, Lousiana.
She died on March 3, 1955 and is the patron saint of racial justice. Canonized: 2000. Her feast day is March 3.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 to April 17, 1680)

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 22, 1980. Since she will be the first Native American saint, I was curious to learn more about her, so took a road trip to the National Kateri Shrine in Fonda, New York in August 2004.
She was born in 1656 to a Mohawk chief father and a Catholic Algonquin mother near Auriesville, New York. When she was four-years-old she contracted the small pox. The disease killed her parents and brother and caused Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha to have a scarred face and poor eyesight.
She was adopted by an uncle and two aunts. Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha was baptized at age 20 and because of this, she endured hostility from her tribe. Eventually she moved to the new Christian colony of Native people in Canada.
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha cared for the sick and elderly and was devoted to the Eucharist and the Crucified Jesus. She died at age 24 in Kahnawake near Montreal, Canada on April 17, 1680. The people who witnessed her death saw the scars on her face disappear, including a pair of French trappers who knew her from many years earlier. They dropped to their knees and cried.
Then, the Frenchmen built her a wooden coffin, put her inside, and carried her to the riverbank.
When I was 12-years-old my parents took our family on a vacation to Quebec, Canada. We went to Ste. Anne de Beaupre Shrine and there was a beautiful statue outside of a Native American girl. It was Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.
In 1994, I visited the Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano in California. I wanted to go there since I was in third grade and learned about the swallows that return every March 19 (St. Joseph's Day and also my cousin Cindy's birthday ) Thirteen years later a large statue in which Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is depicted was put up behind the main altar.
Pray to her and she will help you. The more you pray, the quicker she will become a saint. Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha's feast day is July 14.

"Oh God who among the many marvels of your grace in the New World did cause to blossom on the banks of the Mohawk and the St. Lawrence the pure and tender Lily, Kateri Tekakwitha, grant we beseech you the favor we beg through her intercession; that this Young Lover of Jesus and his Cross may soon be counted among her saints by Holy Mother Church, and that our hearts may be enkindled with a stronger desire to imitate her innocence and faith. We ask this through the same Christ our Lord. Amen."