| Saint Katharine Drexel, S.B.S. | |
|---|---|
St. Katharine Drexel |
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| Foundress | |
| Born | November 26, 1858 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 3, 1955 (aged 96) Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | November 20, 1988 by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II |
| Major shrine | Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania |
| Feast | March 3 |
| Patronage | philanthropists, racial justice |
Saint Katharine Drexel, S.B.S., (November 26, 1858 – March 3, 1955) was an American Religious Sister, heiress, philanthropist and educator, later canonized as a Roman Catholic saint.
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Katharine Mary Drexel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 26, 1858 to Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah Langstroth. Her family owned a considerable banking fortune, and her uncle Anthony Joseph Drexel was the founder of Drexel University in Philadelphia. She had two natural sisters, Louise and Elizabeth.
She took religious vows, and took the name Sister Katharine, dedicating herself and her inheritance to the needs of oppressed Native Americans and African-Americans in the western and southwestern United States, and was a vocal advocate of racial tolerance. She established a religious congregation, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. She also financed more than 60 missions and schools around the United States, as well as founding Xavier University of Louisiana[1] – the only historically Black, Roman Catholic university in the United States to date.
Drexel was beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 20, 1988, and canonized on October 1, 2000, one of only a few American saints and the second American-born saint (Elizabeth Ann Seton was first, as a natural-born US citizen, born in New York City in 1774 and canonized in 1975). The Vatican cited a fourfold legacy of Drexel: A love of the Eucharist and perspective on the unity of all peoples; courage and initiative in addressing social inequality among minorities; her efforts to achieve quality education for all; and selfless service, including the donation of her inheritance, for the victims of injustice. She is known as the patron saint of racial justice and of philanthropists.[2]
Her feast day is observed on March 3, the anniversary of her death. She is buried in Cornwells Heights, Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania.
The Saint Katharine Drexel Mission Center and National Shrine[3] is located in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The Mission Center[4] offers retreat programs, historic site tours, days of prayer, presentations about Saint Katharine Drexel, and lectures and seminars related to her legacy. Furniture and exhibits tell the story of St. Katharine Drexel, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, and the accomplishments of black and Native American people. Her tomb lies under the main altar in St. Elizabeth Chapel.[5]
A second-class relic of St. Katharine Drexel can be found inside the altar of the Mary chapel at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in Raleigh, North Carolina,[6] and in the Day Chapel of Saint Katharine Drexel Parish in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
Numerous Catholic parishes and schools bear the name of St. Katharine Drexel.