The sixth American to be granted the status of sainthood by the Catholic Church was a remarkable woman by the name Katharine Mary Drexel (1858 – 1955). Born into aristocratic circles in Philadelphia, she entered a convent at the age of 31. She is remembered for toiling unceasingly among America’s down-trodden while liberally dispersing her family fortune in the process:
“[While attending] a conference of educators at the University of Notre Dame, Kate criticized Catholic colleges for not giving more scholarships to Negroes, but she knew that the best solutions would be to provide a special college for Negroes as quickly as possible” (This was how Xavier University in Louisiana came into existence).
“In a period of some 60 years, she gave away $12 million. In doing so, she built 45 elementary schools, 12 high schools a university and countless country schools; she supported orphanages, hospitals and homes for the aged; she increased her congregation from its original 11 teaching nuns to over 500 at the time of her death in 1955.”
