Santa Fe's Bronze Statue of a Saintly Indian Woman

The Story of Kateri Tekakwitha

Bronze Statue of Indian Woman in Front of Santa Fe's St. Francis Cathedral - Who is She?

Who is the Indian woman depicted in a beautiful bronze in front of Santa Fe’s St. Francis of Assissi Cathedral? I was drawn to this statue of a magical and beautiful woman, adorned with turquoise jewelry, holding eagle feathers.

She is named Kateri Tekakwitha. She is also known as Lily of the Mohawks and joined the well-known statue of Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy in front of Santa Fe’s St. Francis Cathedral in 2002. Santa Fe’s Archbishop commissioned a statue of Kateri Tekakwitha to honor the Native American spirit. A painting of Tekakwitha also joins a number of other saints on the church's altar screen.

Tekakwitha's father was a Mohawk chief and her mother was a Catholic Algonquin. Tekakwitha, born in 1656, was brought up in the Mohawk community of Ossernenon, now Auriesville, N.Y. A part of the turtle clan, she was orphaned at age 4 when both parents and a brother died in a small pox epidemic. The disease affected her eyesight and her health. Her name, Tekakwitha, means "putting things in order."

A Saintly Life and a Miracle Observed

According to a website devoted to stories and the history of Tekakwitha, she was baptized in 1676, when she was 20 and died four years later. It was her Christian Algonquin mother who instilled in her daughter her Christianity, her Catholicism. Tradition has it that Father Pierre Cholenec, a witness at her deathbed, states that at the time of her death Kateri's face "... so disfigured and so swarthy in life, suddenly changed about fifteen minutes after her death, and in an instant became so beautiful and so fair that just as soon as I saw it (I was praying by her side) I let out a yell, I was so astonished, and I sent for the priest who was working at the repository for the Holy Thursday service. At the news of this prodigy, he came running along with some people who were with him." After her death, Tekakwitha became known as the Lily of the Mohawks.

Catholics Revere Kateri Tekakwitha

The Catholic Information Network has a well-written history of Tekakwitha that is suitable for children. They chronicle her story. “The young woman whom God gave to us for our inspiration and guidance, Kateri Tekakwitha, was a member of the Turtle clan of the Iroquois (note: probably Mohawk) tribe. The turtle has long been a symbol of fertility and motherhood among the Native Americans and this symbol may be applied to a young woman such as Kateri even though she never married and had children in her lifetime, for she now has many children in her devoted followers. Among the Lakota, a baby's umbilical cord is kept in a small, beaded, leather turtle and given to the child to keep as a reminder of their day of birth and their origins. Like Kateri, we are baptized and now have our origins in God, the loving Spirit who creates us anew and gives us life within us rising up like a lively stream of life-giving water.”

Local Artist Commissioned to Create the Bronze of Kateri Tekakwitha

On Jan. 3, 1943, Pope Pius XII declared Tekakwitha venerable, and Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1980. Pope John Paul II also designated Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha as the patroness for World Youth Day 2002 in Canada.

Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan chose Estella Loretto, a Jemez Pueblo sculptor, to create the bronze statue. Estella is the only Native American woman sculpting monumental works in bronze. Her statue of Tekakwitha was unveiled for the cathedral's 150th anniversary in 2002.

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