St. Katharine’s presence was also felt in urban New Orleans, where the Sisters not only opened a Catholic high school and several elementary schools, but also established Xavier University of Louisiana, which was to become the capstone of her educational system. The stresses and strains of building a nationwide network of schools for black and Indian children were hard on St. Katharine, and in 1935 she suffered a near-fatal heart attack. For 20 years she was confined to the infirmary at the Motherhouse in Bensalem, Pa., where she is said to have spent most of her remaining waking hours in prayer and meditation. St. Katharine died on March 3, 1955. She was officially canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic Church in October of 2000 by Pope John Paul II. She is only the fifth American to have been canonized and only the second American-born Saint. She is now in the select company of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, Rose Philippine Duchesne, Bishop John Neumann and Mother Elizabeth Seton. It is estimated that St. Katharine, who during her lifetime shared the annual income from her father’s trust fund with her two sisters, gave away more than $20 million.
The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, founded in 1891 by St. Katharine Drexel, are a congregation dedicated to the interracial apostolate in the USA and Haiti. Ministries can been found in some 15 states (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia), as well as Ferrier, Haiti. They serve in elementary and secondary schools. They are also involved in a variety of other services including pastoral and spiritual ministries, social services, counseling, religious education and health care, primarily but not exclusively among Black and Native American peoples. From the very beginning, Xavier University has reaped the benefit of the Sister’s presence on campus. It was at Xavier that Mother Katharine could best enable her whole vision and congregational mission – that those who were educated and evangelized by the SBS would be leaders, educators, and evangelizers themselves. Over the years, three sisters have served as president of the University, while others filled important roles as administrators, educators, and clerical staff. And even today, several sisters sit on the University’s Board of Trustees. The Motherhouse of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament is in Bensalem PA.
S.B.S. Leadership – (from left) Sr. Sandra Schmidt, Councilor; Sr. Donna Breslin, Councilor; Sr. Amédée Maxwell, Vice-President; and Sr. Patricia Suchalski, President. St. Katharine Drexel Chapel
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