Known as the "Lily of the Mohawks" for her saintly life, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha was born in Auriesville, New York, in 1656. Her mother, a Christian Algonquin, was wife to the pagan chief of the Mohawk Indian tribe.

When Kateri was three years old she lost her father, mother and only brother to a smallpox epidemic, which left her disfigured and partially blind.

Raised by an uncle, Kateri was baptized into the Catholic Faith when she was 19 years old, against the wishes of her relatives. Vowing to lead a virgin life, she spent her days in prayer, and in caring for the sick and elderly.

Kateri's conversion to the Christian faith drew the ridicule of her tribe, forcing her to flee to the Jesuit mission of St. Xavier near Montreal, Canada. Buried at Caughnawaga, Quebec, Kateri was beatified on June 22, 1980. She was canonized a saint on October 21, 2012.