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 She was the 19th century equivalent of an
American princess, born into the privileged family of a wealthy Philadelphia
banker and philanthropist. She could have lived her life in the lap of
luxury, oblivious to the suffering of others.
But instead, throughout the 1890's and the first
half of this century - long before taking up the cause of racial equality
came into vogue - St. Katharine Drexel was at the forefront of efforts to
improve the lives of others. During these decades shadowed by the
segregation and degradation forced on Blacks - combined with the
dispossession, relocation and betrayal of Native Americans - the name of St.
Katharine Drexel shone out as a beacon of hope.
St. Katharine was at the forefront of efforts to educate African-Americans and Native Americans with an eye toward helping them to develop their own leadership and self-determination. Her schools were always open to all faiths; and the nuns who followed her lived among the poor they served.
There has been a resurging interest in St. Katharine sparked by her followers whose thirst for knowledge about her and her mission embarked on a recent spiritual pilgrimage to three south Louisiana towns that benefited from her compassion and generosity.
March 2005 marked the 50th anniversary of St. Katharine's death. In observance, alumni and followers from Xavier University of Louisiana, one of the crowning jewels of her efforts, organized a pilgrimage to Donaldsonville, Reserve and Convent, all small towns with schools and/or churches built by St. Katharine for the black communities of these towns.
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