Saint Katharine Drexel

Katharine Drexel, SBS (born Catherine Mary Drexel; November 26, 1858 – March 3, 1955) was an American heiress, philanthropist, religious sister, educator, and foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She was the second person born in what is now the United States to be canonized as a saint and the first one born a U.S. citizen.

Life and religious work

Katharine Mary Drexel was born Catherine Marie Drexel 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 was a distant cousin of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis on her father's side.

She took religious vows, and took the name ''Mother Katharine'', dedicating herself and her inheritance to the needs of oppressed Native Americans and African-Americans in the southern, western and southwestern United States, and was a vocal advocate of racial tolerance. Joined by 13 other women, she then established a religious congregation, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to further this cause. She also financed more than 60 missions and schools around the United States, as well as the founding of Xavier University of Louisiana – the only historically Black and Catholic university in the United States.

Sainthood

Katherine 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.)

Her feast day is observed on March 3, the anniversary of her death. She is buried in Cornwells Heights, Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania.

Saint Katharine Drexel Mission Center and Shrine

The Saint Katharine Drexel Mission Center and National Shrine is located in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The Mission Center offers retreat programs, historic site tours, days of prayer, presentations about Saint Katharine Drexel, as well as lectures and seminars related to her legacy. Furniture and exhibits tell the story of 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. Originally known as St. Elizabeth's Convent, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

In August, 2018, Drexel's remains were transferred to a new shrine at the.Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.

Relics

A second-class relic of Drexel can be found inside the altar of the Mary chapel at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in the Day Chapel o
Saint Katharine Drexel Parish
in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

Namesakes

Numerous Catholic parishes, schools, and churches bear the name of St. Katharine Drexel.

Parishes

* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Maple, North Carolina
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Ione, California
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Martell, California
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Cape Coral, Florida
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Venice, Florida
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Weston, Florida
* St. Katharine Drexel Mission of Trenton, Georgia
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Cascade, Idaho
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Springfield, Illinois
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Sugar Grove, Illinois
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Frederick, Maryland
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Roxbury, Massachusetts
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Ramsey, Minnesota
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Alton, New Hampshire
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Burlington, New Jersey
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Buffalo, New York
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Bentleyville, Pennsylvania
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Chester, Pennsylvania
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Lansford, Pennsylvania
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Hempstead, Texas
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Kaukauna, Wisconsin
* St. Katharine Drexel Parish of New Orleans, f/k/a Holy Ghost Parish
* St. Joseph's Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel, Columbia, Virginia
* St. Katharine Drexel Mission of Haymarket, Virginia
* Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church's shrine of St. Katharine Drexel, Carencro, Louisiana

Schools

''Schools St. Katharine Drexel founded include (but are not limited to)'':

* St. Benedict the Moor School
*Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, Beaumont, Texas
* Sacred Heart Catholic School, Port Arthur, Texas.
* St. Joseph Indian Normal School, now called Drexel Hall, on the campus of St. Joseph's College, Rensselaer, Indiana. The Indian Normal School operated for eight years, from 1888 to 1896
* St. Michael Indian School, serving grades K–12 in St. Michaels, Arizona
* St. Mark School, the first in New York City for African-American Catholic children
* Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and School, Founded 1912, Atlanta, Georgia
* St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church and School, Founded 1932, Nashville, Tennessee
* St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish was founded in 1893. St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament opened St. Ignatius of Loyola School in 1926. The school moved to its current facility in 1967 in Philadelphia.
* St. Emma's Industrial and Agricultural Institute (later St. Emma Military Academy for Boys) founded on the Belmead Plantation near Powhatan, Virginia in 1897
* St. Frances de Sales School for Girls founded on the Belmead Plantation near Powhatan, Virginia in 1899
* St. Peter Claver Catholic School in Macon, Georgia, in 1913 with the help of Bishop Benjamin Kiely and Father Ignatius Lissner.
*Xavier University of Louisiana

''Schools named in her honor include:''

* Katharine Drexel Elementary School of Broussard, Louisiana
* St. Katharine Drexel School of St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids, Minnesota
* St. Katharine Drexel School of St. Louis
* St. Katharine Drexel School of Philadelphia
* St. Katharine Drexel School of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
* St. Katharine Drexel School of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
* St. Katharine Drexel Regional Catholic School of Holland, Pennsylvania
* St. Katharine Drexel Preparatory High School New Orleans
* St. Katharine Drexel School of Wichita, Kansas
* St. Katharine Drexel Adult Learning Center – Catholic Charities of Tulsa, Oklahoma
* St. Katharine Drexel Preparatory – Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Virginia
* St. Katharine Drexel School (previously St. Germaine School) of Pittsburgh
* St. Edward School New Iberia, Louisiana

Churches and chapels

Katharine-Drexel Kapelle
Dornbirn, Austria—the birthplace of Drexel's grandfather Francis Martin Drexel
* St. Katharine Drexel Chapel and Retirement Center, El Reno, Oklahoma
* St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, New Orleans
* St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Mission, Maple, North Carolina
*St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, Martell, California
* St. Katharine Drexel Summer Chapel, Harpswell, Maine
* St. Katharine Drexel Chapel Drexel university campus Philadelphia, PA
* St. Katharine Drexel Chapel (on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans)
The choir loft window in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Sioux, Saint Joseph's Indian School, Chamberlain, South Dakota, was donated by the Drexel Family.

Streets

* Drexel Road, Tucson, Arizona
* Drexel Drive, New Orleans, LA