National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha - Fonda, New York

(CNS photos/Nancy Wiechec)

Destination: Located in upstate New York, the National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha would make a wonderful stop on a fall colors tour of the northeast. Blessed Kateri will soon become the first Native American saint from the U.S. The shrine is open until Oct. 31 this year and will reopen next May.
Masses are 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Because of other pastoral duties, weekday Masses are not ordinarily offered at the Shrine.
Why to go: Blessed Kateri was born in 1656. Her parents and a brother died in a smallpox outbreak when she was  4 years old. Though she survived, she was scarred by the pox and left nearly blind. Because of her bad eyesight, she was called “Tekakwitha,” which means “she who bumps into things.”
Taken in by relatives, she was discouraged from her interest in Christianity. When she was 18, her uncle relented and told her she could study the faith. She was baptized on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1676, and received her first Communion on Christmas Day in 1677. On the Feast of the Annunciation in 1679, she made a vow of perpetual virginity, and offered herself as a daughter to the Virgin Mary.
A museum at the shrine features items representative of the Mohawk culture. About a quarter-mile up a hill from the museum is Caughnawagha, where the Mohawks lived for about 50 years. Blessed Kateri lived  and was baptized there. The site is fully excavated.
Father Thomas Grassmann, OFM Conv., started the shrine and museum in 1938. It is housed in a converted Dutch barn that was built in 1782.
Special events: Among fall events is a Native American Weekend, healing service and Kateri Cultural Festival scheduled Oct. 3.
Ammenities: A gift shop is open daily when the shrine is open (and online year-round).
Access: The shrine chapel has a second-floor entrance and may be difficult for some visitors to maneuver. The museum is on the ground floor.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Children will, no doubt, enjoy learning about Mohawk culture and a Native American holy woman who became interested in the church as a young child.
Info: Address — National Kateri Shrine, P.O. Box 627, Fonda, NY 12068. Phone — 518/853-3646. Web — www.katerishrine.com

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld; CNS contributed to this story
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