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Early on, St. Katharine indicated her intent to establish a bureau to distribute her wealth to Indians and Black missions, and to enter a cloistered religious order. But instead, during a trip to Rome with her family, she accepted the challenge of Pope Leo XIII and established a brand new order - the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament - which went on to found and staff schools and centers in the inner cities of the North and East, the Indian reservations of the west and
across the Deep South.
Despite the many obstacles placed in their path, including strong opposition from whites, by 1942 the Sisters were operating black Catholic schools, convents and mission centers in some 13 states. So extensive was her influence in the Black, rural areas of New Iberia, St. Martinville and other Acadiana parishes that she is often referred to as the "Patron Saint of South Louisiana."
St. Katharine's presence was also felt in urban New Orleans, where the Sisters not only opened a Catholic high school, Xavier Preparatory School, and several elementary schools, but also established Xavier University of Louisiana - which was to become the capstone of her educational system.
Originally a coeducational secondary school, Xavier evolved into a teacher's college and by 1925 had achieved full university status. A College of Pharmacy - now one of only two pharmaceutical schools in the state - was added two years later. That same College of Pharmacy at Xavier has educated and trained one-fourth of the Black pharmacists currently practicing throughout the United States.
The stresses and strains of building a nationwide network of schools for black and Indian children were hard on St. Katharine. The never-ending work and awesome responsibilities that she shouldered for more than a half-century finally took their toll in 1935 when she suffered a near-fatal heart attack. For 20 years she was confined to the infirmary at the Motherhouse in Bensalem, Pa., where she is said to have spent most of her waking hours in prayer and meditation. She died in 1955.
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