St. Katharine Mary Drexel (March 3rd)

Of the various saints and liturgical celebrations scheduled for this week:

Mar 3rd  – Saint Katharine Drexel, Virgin

Mar 4th – Saint Casimir

Mar 5th – Ash Wednesday

Mar 7th – Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

Mar 8th – Saint John of God, Religious


I’ve chosen to write about St. Katharine Mary Drexel.


Born in 1858 in Philadelphia to a wealthy if devout family, her father Francis Anthony Drexel was a financier who helped finance both the 1848 Mexican-American War and soon afterwards the California Goldrush.  She grew up on a 90 acre estate in the Torresdale section of Philadelphia.  


However, despite the spectacularly upper-class background, her family experienced both tragedy – Katharine’s mother died five weeks after Katharine’s birth – and had a long standing religious tradition – Katharine’s aunt was mother superior at a nearby convent.  


Then Fr. James O’Conner, pastor of the local Catholic community in Philadelphia appeared to have a significant influence on the young Katharine’s life.  When she was 18, he was assigned to Nebraska where he soon was consecrated bishop. During a family visit to him soon afterwards, she saw for the first time the mistreatment of the Native American of  the region, which had a profound impact on her.   


When she was 21, she traveled to Europe, and at an audience with Pope Leo XIII, he urged her to return to the United States and realize her desire to help the African American and Native American populations of her country.  


She returned and entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1889.  In 1891, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament a congregation for African American and Native American sisters.  She served as the Superior General of the Congregation until 1937.  


The congregation opened and ran some 60 schools across the South and West of the United States for African American and Native American students, including Xavier University of Louisiana, the only Catholic Historically Black University in the country.  The University remained staffed at least in part by the SBS sisters until 2024.     


It is clear that a good number of the saints on the Catholic liturgical calendar – from St. Anthony of the Desert of the 4th Century to St. Charles Borromeo of the 16th – came originally from privileged families.  


Yet, these like St. Katharine Mary Drexel, reflected upon here, were able to leave their wealth behind, or put it into service for the poor of their time.


Yes, it may be hard for a rich person to enter into the Kingdom of God, but responding to the needs of their times, these saints, found a way to do so.


St. Katharine Mary Drexel, pray for us!



Caption: Picture from SaintIcon on Etsy.com

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