Drexel was canonized in 2000 and is only the second saint to have been born in America. Having come from a wealthy a family in Philadelphia, she gave up her life of privilege to serve the needs of racial minorities.
During a trip to Rome when she was 20, she was granted an audience with Pope Leo XIII. There, she explained that missionary priests were needed to evangelize and serve those in need. The Pope then asked her to become a missionary herself, which solidified her own desire to join religious life.
She entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Mercy in 1889 with the idea of beginning her own congregation to specifically attend to the needs of the Native American and African American communities. She founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891.
More than 30 mission foundations were established and 400 sisters served across 17 states by 1940.
Drexel's order opened 50 schools for African American children, 12 schools for Native American children, and over 140 missions for these populations.
Her order founded what would eventually become Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically black Catholic university in the United States. Today, a school named after her stands on the site of the original college.
She died in 1955 at the age of 96, and the canonization process began 11 years later.
At the tomb's installation last year, Archbishop Charles Chaput highlighted the saintly qualities of Drexel. He said her life teaches Catholics many things, especially a dedication to compassion and charity, even at a young age.
"Katharine Drexel teaches us that holiness, which means total generosity of one's life, is for the young and not just the old," he said.
"[She] is a model for young adults of our time…Would that they would follow her example of commitment to justice, would that they wanted to follow in her footsteps of holiness."
Perry West is a staff writer for Catholic News Agency. He graduated from Franciscan University with his bachelor's in English. Prior to his job at CNA, he worked in construction staffing and coffee.