Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha or Blessed Catherine Tekakwitha (pronounced [ɡɔdeɺi deɡɔɡʷidɔ] in Mohawk; 1656 – April 17, 1680), the daughter of a Mohawk warrior, Kenneronkwa, and a Catholic Algonquin woman, Kahenta, was born in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon near present-day Auriesville, New York. When she was four, smallpox swept through Ossernenon, and Tekakwitha was left with unsightly scars on her face and poor eyesight. This outbreak took the...
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Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha or Blessed Catherine Tekakwitha (pronounced [ɡɔdeɺi deɡɔɡʷidɔ] in Mohawk; 1656 – April 17, 1680), the daughter of a Mohawk warrior, Kenneronkwa, and a Catholic Algonquin woman, Kahenta, was born in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon near present-day Auriesville, New York. When she was four, smallpox swept through Ossernenon, and Tekakwitha was left with unsightly scars on her face and poor eyesight. This outbreak took the lives of her brother and both her parents, Kahenta (Flower of the Prairie) and Kenneronkwa (Beloved). She was then adopted by her uncle, who was a chief of the Turtle-clan. As the adopted daughter of the chief, she was courted by many of the warriors looking for her hand in marriage. However, during this time she began taking interest in Christianity, which was taught to her by her mother.
In 1666, Alexandre de Prouville burned down Ossernenon. Kateri's clan then settled on the north side of the Mohawk River, near what is now Fonda, New York....
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