Sr. Anna Tansits, IHM

Franciscan Day at Kateri Shrine in Fonda

The annual Secular Franciscan Day at the National Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine in Fonda, NY, will take place Aug. 19, featuring a friar and a nun who will give a presentation on St. Francis and St. Clare.

The presenters, Fr. Peter Chapaitis, OFM, and Sr. Anna Tansits, IHM, operate Bethany Ministries in Middleburgh, NY.

Shrine Director Kevin Kenny, OFM Conv., said the day will begin with Mass in the outdoor chapel at 10:30 a.m., with Father Chapaitis as celebrant. After mass, participants will break for lunch. The presentation on Francis and Clare will highlight the afternoon program. Following the presentation, participants will have the option of doing Stations of the Cross and/or praying the Rosary.

The shrine, which is operated by the Conventual Franciscan friars, boasts a Native American Museum, the Bl. Kateri Shrine Chapel, an outdoor chapel, a friary and guest house, a gift shop, picnic tables, and extensive grounds for walking and praying. The museum and shrine are housed in a converted Dutch barn built in 1782. On the upper part of the grounds, past the woods, there is an archeological dig of the Mohawk village (Caughnawaga) where Kateri Tekakwitha lived from 1666 (when she was 10) to 1677 (when she fled to a Christian Indian settlement near Montreal).

The shrine hosts an annual Native American Pow-Wow (June 30-July 4), and an annual Kateri Peace Conference (Aug. 17-18). Kateri’s feast day will be celebrated Aug. 14-15, with masses celebrated both days with St. Regis/Akwesasne Mohawks.