It is not very common that young women decide to take a vow of Chastity and pledge to marry only Jesus Christ. That is exactly what St. Kateri Tekakwitha did at age 19. Here are some facts about her life shared on ‘Catholic Online’:

She was known as a skilled worker and a patient woman, but she refused to marry. Her uncle worked to find suitors but she turned everyone away, and received extra chores as punishment. She completed them diligently until her uncle gave up.

Kateri’s mother was a Christian Algonquin, and her family passed away due to smallpox. This was the same disease that left her disfigured and half blind. When she gained the courage to take her vow, she was treated as a slave. She wasn’t given food on Sundays, and her conversion created opposition which put her in danger. She took advice from a priest and ran away to a Christian Indian village in the night time. After 3 years under direction of a priest, she took a vow of virginity at age 23. This was an unprecedented act in the eyes of others.

Kateri often spent time alone in the forest to seek God’s voice. She left cross-formed twigs behind her for other people to pray the Stations of the Cross. Kateri told stories about God’s love and His plan for humankind. She spoke highly of people as a whole. She spoke with hope, and did everything with love. Kateri is known as the patroness of ecology. She spread the love of God through nature and appreciated it enough for others to as well. We should follow in her footsteps and cherish what we’ve been given.