Feast of St. Katharine Drexel

 

Born in 1858 to a wealthy family in Philadelphia, St. Katharine Drexel founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (For Indians and Colored) in the early 1890s. To understand the significance of her mission you have to look at the historic perpective. The Civil War and the ending of American slavery was fresh in the minds of the population; Custer and the Little Big Horn occured in 1874. St. Katharine spent between $7 and $12 MILLION dollars of her own money to administer to the needs of the opressed. She founded the first university for Blacks (Xavier University) in New Orleans. By 1943, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament had organized and were running Black Catholic Schools in 13 states, 43 missionary centers, and 23 rural schools.

St. Katharine died at the age of 96 in 1955. She's buried in Bensalem, PA.

Cool facts:


In 1889, she wrote to Bishop O'Conner that, "The Feast of St. Joseph brought me the grace to give the remainder of my life to the Indians and Colored."

She met with Sioux Chief Red Cloud.

In a convergence of saints, she met with Mother Cabrini to discuss ways to get her "Order's Rules" approved by the Pope.