The Jesuit missionary Fr. de Smet met, befriended, and evangelized nearly every native tribe west of the Mississippi in the mid-19th century and, as Tom and Noëlle Crowe tell us, was prized among nearly everyone for his joy, his wisdom, his holiness, and his tirelessness in bringing Christ to all he could meet.
Mary Edmonia Lewis was a black Catholic woman and a great sculptor who gained respect and admiration around the world, but who had to leave the U.S. to gain it.
Thanksgiving only happened with the help of some Spanish Franciscans and Squanto, a Native American they rescued from slavery and who became Catholic.
Sts. Isaac Jogues, Rene Goupil, and John de Lalande were the first Jesuit martyrs to give their lives for Christ in what was then New France in the 1640s.
Fray Antonio Margil was the “The Friar of the Winged Feet” who evangelized much of Central America, Mexico, and present day Texas and Louisiana.
Before Oregon and Washington were US states, John McLoughlin was in charge of essentially all of the Pacific Northwest. He was a larger than life presence.
Rose Philippine Duchesne came to the New World to become a missionary to the native peoples. She founded a religious community and educated natives.
Fr. Eusebio Kino, S.J., was a 17th century Jesuit who ministered tirelessly to the native people of Arizona and Sonoran Mexico, fought for their dignity, and introduced cattle ranching.
In 1836, the Potawatomi, many of whom were Catholic, were force-marched from Indiana to Kansas. A young priest named Benjamin Petit, joined them.