St. Katharine Drexel: Friend of the Oppressed

by Ellen Tarry

Illustrated This Vision book for youth tells the beautiful story of American's recently canonized saint and servant of the oppressed, St. Katharine Drexel. Born in 1858 to Francis and Emma Drexel, Katharine grew up in a happy, devout, and wealthy Catholic family in Philadelphia. Her parents were greatly loved and admired by many for their kindness and generosity to the poor and needy. After the death of her parents the young Katharine decided to use all the fortune she had inherited to help the less fortunate in America, especially the Indians and African Americans. Acting upon the words she had heard come from a statue of Our Lady, "Freely you have received, freely give", and from the direct advice given her by Pope Leo XIII to become a missionary, Katharine Drexel became a religious sister and founded the order of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891. Mother Katharine and her sisters worked tirelessly to serve the material and spiritual needs of the downtrodden through numerous schools and institutions she established around the country. She died in 1955, and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2001. Cover art by Chris Pelicano

Genres: Religion, Biography, Childrens, Catholic

170 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

Reviews

[iliana!! · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars ⭐️

It was really nice to read about my Confirmation saint and learn more about her and her life!! ❤️✝️

[Tammy Schilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as some of the other saint oops for this age. Most of the book is background on her upbringing and life, which is interesting to those who are already interested in her, but kinda boring if not. The stuff that really matters is really just the last 3rd of the book.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I learned a lot. I come from an evangelical background and simply learning the road St. Katherine walked to become a nun was an enlightening story.

I read it aloud to my three boys (10, 8, and 6.)

[Amy McCourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this better than some of the other books in this saint series. More about St. Katherine’s childhood and about her two sisters than I was expecting but in a good way. Read more like a story than a biography.

[Themountainbookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a lovely Saint series. The series is aged for middle grade readers. I read this one to my 4 year old.

Katharine Drexel is an American Saint. It really adds something to the story that we are reading about places and time periods that were familiar with. I really enjoy how much of her childhood is shared and how intimate it is. The book really gives the reader a great peek into their family life and dynamic.
The reason for less stars is the last quarter of the book. It gets somewhat tedious to read. I can’t really pinpoint anything directly. But my 4 year old was also less enthusiastic about picking the book up to keep reading. It would have been nice if more was written about her life as a nun, but maybe that wasn’t the aim for the audience.

All in all it’s definitely worth the read and I’d totally recommend it.