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Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. on 26 November 1858, Katharine was the second daughter of Francis Anthony Drexel, a wealthy banker, and his wife, Hannah Jane. The latter died a month after Katharine's birth, and two years later her father married Emma Bouvier, who was a devoted mother, not only to her own daughter Louisa (born 1862), but also to her two step-daughters. Both parents instilled into the children by word and example that their wealth was simply loaned to them and was to be shared with others.
Katharine was educated privately at home; she travelled widely in the United States and in Europe. Early in life she became aware of the plight of the Native Americans and the Blacks; when she inherited a vast fortune from her father and step-mother, she resolved to devote her wealth to helping these disadvantaged people. In 1885 she established a school for Native Americans at Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Later, during an audience with Pope Leo XIII, she asked him to recommend a religious congregation to staff the institutions which she was financing. The Pope suggested that she herself become a missionary, so in 1889 she began her training in religious life with the Sisters of Mercy at Pittsburgh.
In 1891, with a few companions, Mother Katharine founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. The title of the community summed up the two great driving forces in her life—devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and love for the most deprived people in her country.
Requests for help reached Mother Katharine from various parts of the United States. During her lifetime, approximately 60 schools were opened by her congregation. The most famous foundation was made in 1915; it was Xavier University, New Orleans, the first such institution for Black people in the United States.
In 1935 Mother Katharine suffered a heart attack, and in 1937 she relinquished the office of superior general. Though gradually becoming more infirm, she was able to devote her last years to Eucharistic adoration, and so fulfil her life’s desire. She died at the age of 96 at Cornwell Heights, Pennsylvania, on 3 March 1955. Her cause for beatification was introduced in 1966; she was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II on 26 January 1987, by whom she was also beatified on 20 November 1988.
source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/K/stkatharinedrexel.asp#ixzz1o3ZjDKfN |
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has thanked the Church in Libya and the ecclesial communities in North Africa for their courage and for being a peaceful presence in an area where freedom of conscience is under threat.
The Pope was addressing members of the Episcopal Conference of North African Bishops, CERNA, who are in the Vatican for their Ad Limina visit.
CERNA gathers prelates from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
“You are one of the peripheries” of the world – Pope Francis said to the Prelates from North Africa - and you are the face and the heart with which God reaches out to the people of this periphery.
The courage of Catholics in Libya
Noting that in the past years North Africa has become a land of conquest for more freedom of conscience and dignity as well as a battleground for those who impose change with weapons, the Pope thanked the Church in Libya for the “courage, loyalty and perseverance” shown by clergy, consecrated persons and laypeople who have stood their ground in the face of danger. They are true witnesses of the Gospel, said Francis, thanking them and encouraging them to continue in their efforts to contribute to peace and reconciliation throughout the region.
The need to accept diversity
In his discourse the Pope insisted on the necessity of inter religious dialogue “in order to build where many destroy”.
Charity – he says – is able to open up countless paths that take the breath of the Gospel into diverse cultures and social contexts. And he said that the most effective antidote to violence is getting to know differences and accepting them as wealth and fecundity.
Thus, Pope Francis told the bishops, that it is essential that the religious in their dioceses be trained in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue.
Thus, Pope Francis told the bishops, that it is essential that the religious in their dioceses be trained in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue.
Charity reveals God
Pope Francis said that an infallible weapon in the hands of the “Church of encounter” is charity that must be offered to all without distinction. Thanking the North African bishops who, often with humble means, offer the love of Christ and of the Church to the poor, to the sick, to the elderly, to prison inmates and to the many African immigrants who find themselves in North African countries during their journeys of hope. In doing so he said: “you recognize their human dignity and work to raise awareness of such a huge human drama, you show the love that God has for each of them”.
Look to the Saints
The Pope’s discourse also included many pastoral indications such as the need for attention for “permanent formation” of the clergy and spoke of his joy for the contribution offered by religious men and women in this Year of Consecrated Life.
Inviting all consecrated people to make the beauty of their vocations “shine out”, the Pope pointed to Saints Cyprian and Augustin and to the Blessed Charles de Foucault as models to look up to.
And pointing to those contemporary religious who sacrificed their lives in the name of the faith, Pope Francis expressed his happiness that in the past few years many Christian sanctuaries have been restored in Algeria.
The Pope concluded his discourse pointing out that welcoming “all” with “benevolence and without proselytism”, these communities express their will “to be a Church with open doors, always setting out and going forth”.
During the audience the bishops presented the Pope with a document entitled “Servants of Hope” that shines light on the reality of the Church’s presence in North Africa, and motivates its priests to be ministers of hope in an ever-changing situation, where parishes are being rejuvenated by new presences and where the Churches face the great challenge of ministering to migrants.(Linda Bordoni)
