Sister Kateri Mitchell Retires

When Delia Mitchell entered the Sisters of St. Anne in 1959, the leadership chose the religious name the women took. Mitchell became Sr. Kateri Mitchell, named for St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American named a saint by the Catholic Church.

Mitchell, like Tekakwitha, is from Akwesasne and her connection to the saint has been a lifelong one - her family took trips to the Tekakwitha shrine when she was a child, and she was invited to attend the beatification of Tekakwitha in Rome in 1980, where she was presented with a first-class relic, part of Tekakwitha's wrist bone.

For two decades, Mitchell, 81, has been executive director of the Tekakwitha Conference, an annual gathering for those who minister to Native American Catholics. From 1998 to 2017, she served as the Executive Director of the Tekakwitha Conference, a Catholic Native American association, which in 1977-1980, transformed itself from a Northern Plains Catholic Indian missionaries' group founded in 1939. In so doing, she developed its standing as an international Catholic Native American association while simultaneously promoting the canonization of its patroness and her namesake, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.

Sister Mitchell has worked in many countries with diverse cultures, traditions and background. Recently, Sister Kateri Mitchell was a panelist on 'Women from 5 Continents' on March 26 during the Dominican Leadership Conference. The webinar, "Changing our Narrative One Story at a Time," was held on March 26, 2021, the final day of the 2021 World Conference on Women.

Sister Kateri Mitchell gave a message of hope for women and for the world, in spite of the damage caused to the Indigenous peoples of North America with the arrival of colonists from Europe.

"We cannot allow our past hurts to destroy our inner spirit," Sister Kateri said. "We need to move forward beyond the dark sky and find hope in a new sunrise." She noted women's special role as life givers, and their sacred relationship to Mother Earth. Women today are growing stronger and stronger in their healing efforts for themselves, their children, and their families, she said.

"Our women are discovering their own truth and self-worth," Sister Kateri said. She compared this new awareness to seeds planted in Mother Earth and nurtured, creating new life. "One sees new life coming above the ground, and soon stems, leaves, and blossoms are ready to flower – soon a whole garden and then beautiful fields of blossoms ready for the world to see a new generation of women...with a strong inner spirit who are ready to share and fulfill their purpose in life."

In reflecting on her work, she stated, "Yes, 60 years sharing with people in many places and many religious backgrounds with 100s of tribes and nations in North America and many other countries.  I was respected for being true and proud of my Mohawk culture and also my Catholic faith and how I have lived and bridged both and how I respect so many other religions."