Parish installs shrine to Blessed Tekakwitha

A new shrine to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha greets visitors to St. Francis of Assisi Church in Northville.

Rev. Thomas Morrette, administrator, said the shrine is drawing people from all over the country and hopes that will advance the Native American's chance for canonization.

Blessed Kateri lived part of her short life in what is now the Albany Diocese. A national shrine dedicated to her is in Fonda (see www.katerishrine.com).

Relic

The new shrine was put together as the result of recent church renovations that led to the discovery of a relic: a piece of the bone of the Mohawk woman who was born in 1656 and died at the age of 24.

"We were fortunate enough to already have a statue of Blessed Kateri in our church." Father Morrette said. When "we discovered the relic in the rectory, we decided to install a shrine."

The statue had stood in a secluded corner of the church. A parishioner offered to build an oak structure to hold both the statue and the relic.

Devotion

"We've already had a number of visitors to the parish," the priest said. "One young man and a friend came here recently for a wedding. He noticed the Kateri shrine and asked me about it. He apparently did not know who she was.

"The next day, he brought [someone else] to see it. They both were very interested in her life and circumstances. They stayed at the shrine, praying for a while.

"We're hoping to spread devotion and make more people aware of the efforts regarding her canonization. It would be wonderful if the required miracle needed for that canonization came from the Albany Diocese."

Second shrine

The renovation of the church includes a Pro-Life Shrine to Our Lady in front of the church.

Father Morrette said that "the statue of Our Lady is five feet tall and made of Carrara marble, which was imported from Italy."

The granite base, part of the original granite used for the New York State Capitol, was given to the parish. The shrine includes an inscription from a U.S. bishops' document on life.

(On August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, both shrines and the renovated church were blessed by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard.)

(9/6/07)