Saint Katharine Drexel

Born into a wealthy family in Philadelphia in 1858, Saint Katharine Drexel had an excellent education, traveled widely, and had a grand debut into society. After she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness, her life took a profound turn.

After three and a half years of training, Mother Drexel and her first band of nuns—Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored—opened a boarding school in Santa Fe. A string of foundations followed. By 1942, she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states, plus 40 mission centers and 23 rural schools. Segregationists harassed her work, even burning a school in Pennsylvania. In all, she established 50 missions for Indians in 16 states. Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic university in the United States for African Americans.