Vatican, 30 August, 2023 / 3:06 pm (ACI Africa).
St. Kateri Tekakwitha teaches us to live an ordinary holiness and to confront the suffering of life with patience, Pope Francis said on Wednesday.
At his weekly public audience Aug. 30, the pope spoke about the Native American saint in his continuing series of talks on apostolic zeal.
“Kateri Tekakwitha’s life shows us that every challenge can be overcome if we open our hearts to Jesus, who grants us the grace we need: patience and a heart open to Jesus. This is a recipe to live well,” he said in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
Francis described the intense difficulties the saint faced — including the loss at age 4 of her parents and brother from smallpox, and persecution after her baptism and conversion to Christianity — and the way Kateri responded.
Pilgrims at Pope Francis' general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Aug. 30, 2023. Adi Zace/CNA