EVERYONE IS WELCOME
AT SAINT KATERI'S HOME

The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site promotes healing, encourages environmental stewardship, and facilitates peace for all people by offering the natural, cultural, and spiritual resources at this sacred site.

The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine is a sacred place of peace and healing, dedicated to our first Native American saint. The Shrine is open all year, with its most active season being May through October, when weekend Masses and many events are held. The Saint Kateri Shrine is Catholic in identity; our ministry and site are ecumenical and we welcome people of all faiths.

These grounds are dedicated to Kateri Tekakwitha because it was here she was baptized and lived most of her life. The village of Caughnawaga, which was Kateri’s home, was rediscovered in 1950 and is now the only fully excavated Iroquois/Haudenosaunee village in the world. This distinction has earned the site listing on both the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors are welcome to visit both the village archaeological site and the Kateri Spring, which provided the water for Kateri Tekakwitha’s baptism.

The main grounds feature Saint Peter’s Chapel, housed in a former Dutch barn built in 1782; museum exhibits of Native American culture and history; Saint Maximilian Kolbe Pavilion; a Candle Chapel dedicated to Saint Kateri; Grassmann Hall and the Shrine office; a friary; a gift shop; an outdoor sanctuary; and maintenance facilities. The 150 acres of the Saint Kateri Shrine & Historic Site include hiking trails that are open to the public year-round from sunrise to sunset.

The Shrine was established in 1938 by Fr. Thomas Grassmann and the Franciscan Friars, Order of Friars Minor Conventual, as the Fonda Memorial of Catherine Tekakwitha. It currently operates under the auspices of the Franciscan Friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province and is steered by an Advisory Council modeled on Native examples of consensus-based decision making.