Father Peter Pawall, an Anglican priest, celebrates the "Smudging and Blessing of Four Directions" as Cardinal George blessed the new Kateri Center, now located at St. Benedict Parish, 3938 N. Leavitt St., on Jan. 7. Established in 1982 as the Anawim Center in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, the center serves nearly 250 families in the archdiocese and the larger Native American community and is the only Catholic ministry for Native Americana in Illinois. The center was renamed to honor Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk maiden who dedicated her life to teaching children and serving the sick and the aged following her conversion in 1676 in what is now upstate New York.
Photo: Karen Callaway / Catholic New World