What is saint katharine drexel known for

In , she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament , a religious congregation serving Black and Indigenous Americans.

St katharine drexel feast day

She had an older sister, Elizabeth. Her father married Emma Bouvier in , brought his older children home, and had a third daughter, Louise, in The girls grew up in a wealthy and religious household with charitable principles. Emma regularly distributed food and clothing at her home to people. The family lived on a acre estate in the Torresdale section of Philadelphia was named St.

Michel in honor of Saint Michael, the archangel. Dominic's in the nearby Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, and served as chaplain to the Society of the Sacred Heart at their motherhouse at Eden Hall in Torresdale, where Katharine's maternal aunt was mother superior. He was consecrated titular Bishop of Dibona at the chapel at Eden Hall.

In these early years, Drexel traveled extensively, both in her home country and abroad. In , during an audience with Pope Leo XIII , she was urged to become a missionary and to realize her desire to assist the Indian and African American population in the country. She served as first Superior General of the congregation and held that position until , when illness made it necessary that she retire from active administration.

An appeal by the late Archbishop James H. Blenk brought Mother Katharine to New Orleans in to open the way for the education of the black youth in the city. She financed more than 60 missions and schools around the United States, as well as founding Xavier University of Louisiana [ 7 ] — the only historically Black and Catholic university in the United States.