Tekakwitha is now a Catholic saint
Kateri Tekakwitha is now a saint in the Catholic church. With this story, I’m torn between wanting to give the Mohawks their due, and wanting to ignore what the Vatican mob does, but local and worldwide media are giving Tekakwitha plenty of space this weekend (La Presse even giving us Tekakwitha by the numbers).
The New York Times looks glancingly at some mixed feelings about Tekakwitha. Let’s not lose touch with what’s known about her: the woman died at 24 after years of mortifying her own flesh. Today we’d see her as having a serious psychological issue, although the Catholic church encouraged that sort of thing at the time (and to some extent still does). Like Brother André’s, maybe this canonization will be good for local tourism, but it isn’t good for much else.
Jack 16:51 on 2012/10/21 Permalink
In Alan Greer’s book, “Mohawk Saint: Catherine Tekakwitha and the Jesuits” what becomes increasingly clear is her story is more about the Jesuits attempt to frame her for their own very obvious reasons.The Jesuit who wrote her story only met her fleetingly as she was dying yet wrote volumes about her piety and devotion.
No\Deli 17:26 on 2012/10/21 Permalink
Yeah, well that’s their thing isn’t it? Historical fiction, and a gruesome preoccupation with (and investment in) human suffering.