In 2021, the friars in the Southwest celebrated 30 years of Franciscan presence in El Paso, Texas. From the very beginning, the friars have ministered to the Tigua People – Indigenous Americans who built the Mission of San Antonio and have worshiped there since 1682. Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the “Lily of the Mohawks,” canonized in 2012, is honored on one of the side altars.
As part of the celebration of ministerial presence, and in honor of the resilient presence of the Tigua people and the patroness of Indigenous People, ecology, and ecologists, the friars dedicated their friary to Saint Kateri.
Friar Mario Serrano wrote, “…hope is made visible by the resilient presence of the Tigua People and of St. Kateri. So, we choose to dedicate our friary to St. Kateri Tekakwitha by renaming our friary in her honor… We choose to act by honoring our past and moving forward with hope.”
Learn more about Ysleta Misson at ysletamission.org and about St. Kateri at katerishrine.org.
(The above information is an excerpt from an article originally published in the St. Anthony Newsletter, a publication of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation.)
