KATHARINE DREXEL
Name: Katharine Drexel
Born: 26 November 1858 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died: 3 March 1955 Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania
Katharine Mary Drexel (November 26, 1858 - March 3, 1955) is a Roman Catholic
Saint.
She was the daughter of Philadelphia banker Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah
Jane Langstroth, his first wife. Her mother died when she was five weeks old.
And her father remarried to Emma Boulvier Drexel. Her house was open three times
a week to the poor. On 12 February 1891, Katharine founded the Sisters of the
Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. From the age of 33 until her
death in 1955, she dedicated her life and personal fortune of US $20 million to
this work. In 1894, Mother Drexel took part in opening the Sisters' first
mission school for Native Americans, St. Katharine Indian School in Santa Fe,
New Mexico. Other schools quickly followed for Native Americans west of the
Mississippi River, and for the African Americans in the southern part of the
United States. In 1915 she also founded Xavier University and Xavier Prep in New
Orleans.
St. Katharine also founded many chapels, convents, and monasteries. Blessed
Sacrament Monastery in Tucson, Arizona is an example of the tasteful
architecture that she advocated for religious institutions. At her death in 1955
there were more than 500 Sisters teaching in 63 schools throughout the country.
In 1935, Katharine suffered a severe heart attack, and for the next twenty years
she lived in retirement. She died on March 3, 1955, at the age of 96 at St.
Elizabeth Convent in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania.
Name: Katharine Drexel
Born: 26 November 1858 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died: 3 March 1955 Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania
Katharine Mary Drexel (November 26, 1858 - March 3, 1955) is a Roman Catholic
Saint.
She was the daughter of Philadelphia banker Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah
Jane Langstroth, his first wife. Her mother died when she was five weeks old.
And her father remarried to Emma Boulvier Drexel. Her house was open three times
a week to the poor. On 12 February 1891, Katharine founded the Sisters of the
Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. From the age of 33 until her
death in 1955, she dedicated her life and personal fortune of US $20 million to
this work. In 1894, Mother Drexel took part in opening the Sisters' first
mission school for Native Americans, St. Katharine Indian School in Santa Fe,
New Mexico. Other schools quickly followed for Native Americans west of the
Mississippi River, and for the African Americans in the southern part of the
United States. In 1915 she also founded Xavier University and Xavier Prep in New
Orleans.
St. Katharine also founded many chapels, convents, and monasteries. Blessed
Sacrament Monastery in Tucson, Arizona is an example of the tasteful
architecture that she advocated for religious institutions. At her death in 1955
there were more than 500 Sisters teaching in 63 schools throughout the country.
In 1935, Katharine suffered a severe heart attack, and for the next twenty years
she lived in retirement. She died on March 3, 1955, at the age of 96 at St.
Elizabeth Convent in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania.