St. Katharine Drexel was born in Philadelphia on November 26, 1858, as the second child of Hannah and Francis Anthony Drexel. During a trip to the Western United States, Katharine witnessed the suffering of Native Americans, inspiring her to help alleviate their struggles. In 1887, she founded St. Catherine Indian School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. While visiting Pope Leo XIII in Rome to request missionaries for her missions, she was encouraged to become a missionary herself. After consulting with her spiritual director, Bishop James O'Connor, she dedicated herself and her inheritance to God.
In 1889, Katharine began her religious training with the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh. On February 12, 1891, she professed her first vows and founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, focused on spreading the Gospel to Native Americans and African Americans. Through the prophetic witness of Katharine Drexel's initiative, the Church in the United States was enabled to become aware of the grave domestic need for an apostolate among Native Americans and Afro-Americans.
In 1915, she established Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic university for African Americans in the United States. Over her lifetime, her congregation founded approximately 60 schools. For the last 18 years, she lived in near-complete immobility due to illness, dedicating herself to a life of adoration. Katharine Drexel passed away on March 3, 1955.
Heavenly Father, You called St. Katharine Drexel to teach the message of the Gospel and to bring the life of the Eucharist to the Native American and African American peoples; by her prayers and example, enable us to work for justice among the poor and the oppressed.
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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