Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Archives collection

Saint Katharine Mary Drexel, S.B.S. (November 26, 1858 – March 3, 1955) is a Roman Catholic Saint. Katharine dedicated her life and inheritance to the needs of oppressed Native Americans and Blacks in the West and Southwest United States, and was a vocal advocate of racial tolerance. To address racial injustice and destitution and spread the Gospel to these groups, Katharine established a religious order, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. Because Katharine felt a universal need for education, especially among Blacks and Native Americans, she financed more than 60 missions and schools around the United States. Because of her lifelong dedication to her faith and her selfless service to the oppressed, Pope John Paul II canonized her on October 1, 2000, to become only the second recognized American-born saint (after Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1975). Katharine was beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 20, 1988. The Vatican identified in Katharine a fourfold legacy: A love of the Eucharist and her perspective on the unity of all peoples; courage and initiative in addressing social inequality among minorities; her efforts to achieve quality education for all; and her selfless service, including the donation of her inheritance, for the victims of injustice. She is known as the Patron Saint of racial justice and of philanthropists. Her feast day is March 3, the anniversary of her death. She is buried in Cornwells Heights, Bensalem Township. Within the Diocese of Charleston, Saint Katharine Drexel isbest known for her contributions to the establishment of the new Immaculate Conception School in Charleston.

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