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Who Was Saint Katharine Drexel?
Saint Katharine Drexel, born into wealth and privilege, dedicated her life to serving marginalized communities. In 1891, she left behind her status as an heiress to become a nun, founding the order of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She used her considerable fortune to establish schools for Native Americans and African Americans across the United States. Drexel passed away in 1955 at the age of 96 and was canonized as a Catholic saint in 2000.
Early Life
Katharine Drexel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 26, 1858. Her father, Francis Anthony Drexel, was a prominent financier and a business partner of J.P. Morgan, while her mother, Hannah Jane (née Langstroth) Drexel, passed away just a month after Katharine’s birth. In 1860, her father remarried Emma Bouvier. Raised in great wealth, Drexel’s family was also known for their charitable endeavors, which influenced her values.
Drexel was educated at home and was aware of the challenges faced by Native Americans and African Americans across the United States, particularly after traveling throughout the country. The deaths of her stepmother in 1883 and her father in 1885 left her with a substantial inheritance, which Drexel resolved to use for the betterment of marginalized communities.
Her philanthropic journey began with support for various schools, including one on a South Dakota reservation. During a trip to Europe in 1887, Drexel met Pope Leo XIII and asked for guidance on how to further her mission. The Pope suggested that she might consider establishing a religious order to carry out this work.
Religious Life and Work
In 1889, Drexel entered religious life, training as a novice with the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She took her final vows in 1891 and, with the help of a few other nuns, founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People (later shortened to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament). The order’s mission was to provide education and support to Native Americans and African Americans, funded largely by Drexel’s personal fortune.
In 1894, Drexel and 15 fellow sisters established a school for Native Americans in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This was the first of many schools Drexel’s order would open across the Southwest, including several located on reservations. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament also founded numerous schools for African American children. Notably, Drexel established a secondary school for African Americans in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1915, which later became Xavier University, the first historically African American Catholic university in the United States.
Saint Katharine Drexel’s legacy continues through the educational institutions and the countless lives she touched through her commitment to social justice and service.
Later Life and Death
Katharine Drexel suffered a heart attack in 1935, and two years later, she stepped down from the leadership of her order. She passed away at the age of 96 on March 3, 1955, in Cornwell Heights, Pennsylvania. Throughout her life, Drexel donated approximately $20 million to support those in need.
At the time of her death, Drexel’s order had grown to over 500 members. With her guidance and support, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament had established 145 missions, 49 elementary schools, and 12 high schools. The order continues its educational and missionary work to this day.
Canonization as a Saint
In the 1960s, the Catholic Church began the process of considering Drexel for sainthood. She was beatified in 1988 after the Vatican recognized that prayers to Drexel had miraculously restored the hearing of a teenager. In 2000, a second miracle was attributed to her, and Pope John Paul II canonized her as Saint Katharine Drexel later that same year. Her feast day is celebrated on March 3.