Portal:Philadelphia/Selected biography/June 2007

Katharine Marie Drexel is a Roman Catholic Saint. The daughter of Philadelphia banker Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah Jane Langstroth, his first wife. On 12 February 1891, Katharine founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. From the age of 33 until her death in 1955, she dedicated her life and personal fortune of US$ 20 million to this work, opening numerous schools in the Western United States. Katharine was beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 20, 1988. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 1, 2000 to become only the second American-born saint.