Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will preside at a mass honoring Blessed Katharine Drexel on her Feast day. More than 1500 people are expected to attend the mass, including members of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the religious order Blessed Katharine established in 1891. Her Cause for Sainthood is currently being reviewed by a Medical Board assigned by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 3, 1999
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia

The mass will celebrate Blessed Katharine Drexel's life and her continuing mission, which focuses on the most neglected Native Americans and African Americans.

Katharine Drexel was born in 1858 in Philadelphia. She chose to live a very poor life while spending her entire fortune, approximately $20 million, on helping Native American and African American poor throughout the United States. Katharine Drexel died in 1955. Pope John Paul II beatified her on November 20, 1988.

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