The four-year-old Indian girl Tekakwitha was slowly recovering from the terrible smallpox epidemic; her father and her Christian mother had both died. Now Tekakwitha’s face was pock-marked and she was partially blind.As she grew up, Tekakwitha’s one desire was to become a Christian and belong to the Great White Spirit, as the Indians called God. She longed to have a Blackrobe (Catholic priest) pour the blessed water over her head(Baptism). But her relatives did not want to hear any talk of this. And when Tekakwitha turned away from marriage and would not watch the torture of captives, they were very displeased and made her work long and hard.One day, when a Blackrobe came to the village, Tekakwitha earnestly begged for Baptism. After receiving instructions, she was baptized, receiving the name Kateri, or Catherine. Her heart almost burst for joy. But now that Kateri was a Christian, she was treated even worse at home. So it was arranged for her to escape to Sault Saint Louis, a village of Christian Indians near Montreal. There she was very happy, discovering that the more she prayed and suffered for God, the happier she was.Eventually, Kateri’s life neared its end. After she died, the marks on her face miraculously disappeared, leaving her radiant and lovely. Kateri became known as “the Lily of the Mohawks.” She was a first beautiful Catholic flower raised up by God among the Indians of America.
