-Caveat Lector- Pope names Philadelphia heiress as 2nd U.S.-born saint By ALESSANDRA RIZZO The Associated Press 10/1/00 1:13 PM VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Katharine Drexel grew up the privileged daughter of a 19th-century Philadelphia banker. She lived in mansions. Dressed for balls. Traveled the world. Then, at 30, Drexel finally got to do what she had always wanted to: taking a vow of poverty, she founded her own order of sisters, devoting her life -- and her dlrs 20 million inheritance -- to founding schools for American Indians and blacks. "She knew she was wealthy for a reason: to help poor people," said Catherine Andrew Lewis of Brooklyn, an alumni of Drexel-founded schools and one of the faithful looking on in St. Peter's Square Sunday as Pope John Paul II decreed sainthood for Drexel. The American heiress-turned-nun was one of 123 Catholics canonized Sunday. Gospel singers from Xavier University in New Orleans, founded by Drexler, attended the ceremony. "Drexel is an excellent example of that practical charity and generous solidarity with the less fortunate that has long been the distinguishing mark of American Catholics," the pontiff said during a rain-soaked ceremony that drew tens of thousands. Her life brought about "a growing awareness of the need to combat all forms of racism through education and social services," John Paul said. Drexel was born in 1858 to a Philadelphia banking magnate, the business partner of J.P. Morgan. Her uncle was the founder of the Drexel University. Shunning both the label and the life of a socialite, she took little note of her gala debut on the social scene and turned down offers of marriage before taking the veil. Her canonization was the first of a native-born American in 25 years. Hundreds came from the United States -- from family members to members of American Indian tribes -- to see it. They included Amanda Wall, a 8-year-old from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Born deaf in both ears, the girl gained her hearing at 4 after her mother prayed to Drexel. The Vatican certified the episode as a miracle and attributed to Drexel's intercession, a requirement in her naming to the sainthood. Drexel founded the missionary order of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891, four years after Pope Leo XIII encouraged her to do so to bring Catholicism to the poor of the American West. "We have to be thankful that she has let this part of America live better lives," said Connie Terracina, a retired teacher who had been educated by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Stories of Drexel's poverty and self-denial became legendary in her lifetime. Her order preserves a jar of pencils she had used down to the nubs. She wore shoes down to paper-thin soles and ate the leftovers off other nuns' plates. "I remember her as being a very warm and honest person, very sincere," recalled Lewis, who was a student at the Holy Providence school in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in 1946. Drexel, then 87, was confined to a wheelchair she had fashioned from a folding chair ---- another sign of her penury. "She really loved us and wanted us to be well-educated," said Lewis. In all, Drexel founded more than 100 schools and missions for American Indians and blacks. Most of her work was in the Southwest, where she used to travel frequently to monitor the construction of the schools or inspect potential mission sites. In 1915, she founded the Xavier University in New Orleans for black Catholics. Drexel died in 1955 at 96 and was buried in her order's mother house in Bensalem. Her shrine has become a major pilgrimage site. Drexel is the second American-born saint. The first was Elizabeth Ann Seton, who also founded an order in the early 1800s and was canonized in 1975. The pope ---- the leading saint-maker in the history of church ---- clearly values canonizations to raise the profile of the church in a particular country or to show an array of role models for Roman Catholics today. On the Net: http://www.katharinedrexel.org http://www.vatican.va Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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