Novena to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha – 9 Days of Prayer
The Lily of the Mohawks — first Indigenous saint of North America, who faced persecution for her faith and offered her suffering with great joy. Patron of Indigenous peoples, the environment, and exiles.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks, is the first Indigenous saint of North America. She faced persecution for her faith and offered her suffering with joy. This novena asks for her prayers for Indigenous peoples and for the environment. Her feast is July 14. She was born in the 1650s in what is now New York, baptised as a young woman and moved to a Christian village in Canada. She died at twenty-four and was canonised in 2012. Pray the novena for Indigenous communities, for the earth and for courage when your faith is questioned.
A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer. Begin nine days before the feast (July 14) and finish on its eve. You can pray this novena at any time of year.
Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app
Open in the app App StoreGoogle PlayNovena to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha – prayer for all nine days
Intention: For Indigenous Peoples, the Marginalized, and Ecological Holiness
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, you were born in 1656 in what is now New York, to a Mohawk father and a Christian Algonquin mother who died of smallpox when you were four. The same disease scarred your face and left you partly blind. Yet from childhood you were drawn toward the mystery of God.
When the Jesuit missionaries came, you listened with your whole heart. You were baptized at twenty, taking the name Kateri — Catherine — and the persecution from your own tribe became so fierce that you fled to a Christian Mohawk village near Montreal. There you prayed, fasted, and lived a life of extraordinary holiness until your death at twenty-four.
Your last words were: "Jesus, I love You." At your death, witnesses say your scarred face became radiant and beautiful. Intercede for us now. Amen.
Saint Kateri, you bore rejection from your own people for the sake of Christ, and you never returned bitterness for bitterness. You found in the forest and the natural world signs of God's presence, and you loved Creation as a gift to be tended and honored.
Pray for all Indigenous peoples, especially those who carry wounds from history. May the Church honor their dignity, listen to their wisdom, and ask forgiveness where forgiveness is needed.
Pray for those who suffer rejection because of their faith — at home, at work, from family. Give them your courage and your peace.
You called the Eucharist your greatest joy. Help us to love what you loved — the living presence of Christ in the sacrament — and to run to that presence as you ran to the chapel in the darkness before dawn.
Saint Kateri, Lily of the Mohawks, pray for us. Amen.
Lord God, through Saint Kateri You showed that holiness blooms in every culture and every people. May the beauty of her life draw us deeper into faithfulness, and may her intercession bring healing to the wounds between peoples and the wounds in our own hearts. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pray this prayer once a day for nine days in a row.
Traditional Catholic Devotional Prayer · Feast Day: July 14. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680) was a Mohawk woman who converted to Catholicism despite opposition. She was the first Native North American to be canonized (2012). Called the Lily of the Mohawks.
More novenas
- St. Jude Novena
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena
- St. Joseph Novena
- St. Therese Novena
- St. Anthony of Padua Novena
- St. Rita Novena
Frequently asked questions
When should I start the Novena to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha?
Begin on July 5 to end on July 13, the eve of her feast on July 14.
How do I pray the Novena to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha?
Pray the daily prayer once a day, ideally outdoors if you can.
Who is the Novena to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha for?
It is for Indigenous Catholics, the persecuted and nature lovers.
Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app
Open in the app App StoreGoogle Play