Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

The Virgin on the land of the martyrs and of Kateri

Auriesville (United States) (1642-1646 / c. 1656)

In Auriesville, New York, stands the National Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs. Located in the region of the former Mohawk settlement of Ossernenon, it honors Mary on land steeped in martyrdom. There, in the 1640s, Jesuits were missionaries among the Iroquois: Saint René Goupil was martyred in 1642, and Saints Isaac Jogues and John de La Lande in 1646, in that Mohawk settlement. The Jesuit presence in the area and the martyrs' deaths are well documented, supported by the Society's historiography and the canonization processes.

The shrine's tradition holds that this very spot was the birthplace of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, born around 1656 in a Mohawk village in the Mohawk River region. It is historically accepted that she was born in a settlement in that area, and the precise identification with the current site of the shrine is supported by local tradition and historical research, but it cannot be proven with archaeological certainty. The same can be said of the precise topographical coincidence between the site of her martyrdom and the hill where the shrine now stands: it is likely that it is that area, but the point-by-point accuracy is reasonable tradition, not conclusive proof. Kateri, whose life, conversion, and reputation for holiness are indeed historical, was canonized in 2012 by Benedict XVI, and the shrine venerates her as a "daughter" of that land of martyrdom.

At the end of the 19th century, Jesuits identified the land as that of the ancient Ossernenon and promoted pilgrimages, erecting a large sanctuary under the title of Our Lady of the Martyrs. The exact dates of the land acquisition and the consecration of the main church are not recorded in the Spanish-language sources consulted. The spirituality of the site emphasizes the connection between Isaac Jogues's forgiveness of his executioners, Mary's intercession, and the subsequent conversion of the indigenous people, of which Kateri is a result. There are accounts of conversions and vocations following retreats, but no officially recognized physical miracle linked to this title is recorded. The Rosary is prayed during pilgrimages as a common Marian practice within Jesuit spirituality, although there is no record of a specific "miracle of the Rosary": here, devotion is linked to the memory of the martyrs and Saint Kateri.