Confirmation Saint - Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha 1656 – 1680 (died at 24)

I was confirmed in June of ’98 along with my classmates at St. Clement Roman Catholic Elementary School. Growing up in a Catholic household, and seeing the older students ahead of me going through the rite of Confirmation, I had been thinking about which saint to choose as my patron and representation when the time came. Initially, I was taken by the story of St. Joan of Arc, being strong and faithful to God when the mores of society were against her, her young life, her martyrdom, her strength and her place in a period of European history, which fascinated me as a girl.

But my father had a different idea. I was his first-born, so none of his other daughters had gone through Confirmation just yet. We were alike in many ways, which included a strong fascination of our own Canadian history, especially from the Southern Ontario region. This area is well-known for its First Nations Peoples (“Native Americans” as they'd be known in the States), the Ojibwa and the Mohawk tribes’ histories prominent in local storytelling and art. Not being of First Nations descent, this culture fascinated both of us, and we shared this passion by visiting Martyr Shrine in Midland, Ontario, where there is an adjacent First Nations fort kept intact for history buffs and tourists. We also vacationed yearly to Lake Huron, on the outskirts of First Nations reservations, and would take long walks on the beach together towards the limits of our land.

I don’t remember how it came about, but it was my dad who recommended I take Blessed Kateri’s name as my confirmation name, and the saint as my patron. Since her name was the Mohawk translation of my own, it worked well, and it would mean a lot to him and me, considering our shared passion.

And so I did. I learned about Blessed Kateri and her patronage for the environment, which seemed appropriate, my dad being the gardener he was. I was happy and honored to announce to the bishop on the day of my confirmation that I would take the name Kateri as an adult in the Church, and so I was baptized with the Holy Spirit as Kateri.

The strange – or wonderful – thing about this very meaningful decision is that well after my dad passed away at age 50, I discovered another one of Blessed Kateri’s patronages: Patron of those who have lost parents.

It’s unlikely my dad knew about that patronage.

But thank God for that gift of this beautiful saint praying for me from the time I chose her at age thirteen to today, five and a half years after the passing of my dad, who felt called to suggest her for me. 

Please pray for this wonderful woman's canonization!