Welcome to the Kateri Shrine
of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
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The Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine at the “Cathedral of the Osage” is in
honor of a young Mohawk Indian woman who lived in the 17th century.Blessed
Kateri (1656-1680) is an inspiration to all Christians.Kateri demonstrated
courage in the face of suffering and extraordinary holiness.She became a
Christian at a time when many Mohawks were hostile to Christianity and the
Jesuit missionaries’ who introduced Kateri to Christianity.
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Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, called “The Cathedral of the Osage,” was
established in 1887 to serve the Osage Indian Catholics of Pawhuska (then
Indian Territory) and now Oklahoma. Jesuits missionaries worked with the Osage
people in Pawhuska.
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| Just as the Cathedral of the Osage has and continues to serve
the Catholic population in Osage County so the Shrine to Blessed Kateri will
continue to add to the Faith of the entire populatio of the ara by her story
and by her faith in God. Those with needs, with worrow, with prayers, with
wayward sons and daughters will be inivted to come to the Shrine and present
their needs to God through the intercession of Blessed Kateri.
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The idea to establish a shrine in the historic Osage Indian Nation Capitol came
from Opal Rector, an Osage woman, who was the source of initial funding for the
shrine. After Opal’s death, a group of lay people worked together to build a
shrine in honor of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha called Lily of the Mohawk.
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Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native North American and layperson
recommended for canonization as a Saint in the Roman Catholic Church.She was
designated as Venerable in 1943 and was declared Blessed in 1980 by Pope John
Paul II.
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