Featured Article: The Society of the Divine Word: Ahead of its Time on Civil Rights - From its earliest days, the Society of the Divine Word (SVD)-the largest Catholic missionary order in the world-has welcomed people from other cultures to sit with them at the table of Christ as equals. This willingness to engage with people of other races, creeds and ethnic origins was never more evident than when the society opened the first seminary for African Americans. Not only was the seminary established decades before the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, but it was established in the Deep South where racial segregation ran the hottest. Read Full Story

Take a Pilgrimage to the Heart of a Saint
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament [ www.katharinedrexel.org ]

Saint Katharine Drexel Shrine
1663 Bristol Pike
Bensalem, PA 19020

Visit the Shrine

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Reserve Your Pilgrimage Today!
Call 215-639-7878

Scheduled Pilgrimage hours: 10 AM and 1 PM

Pilgrimages are approximately 2 hours. Pilgrims should expect to do some walking & must be able to climb stairs.

There is no fee, but donations are greatly appreciated and go towards continuing the work of St. Katharine and her missions.

Site to See on Your S.B.S Journey

The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Motherhouse in Bensalem, PA

The grounds of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament lie on 54 acres of Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The picturesque buildings, over 100-years-old, are of Spanish/French architectural style and show European monastic influence.

Saint Katharine Drexel Shrine

Saint Katharine's life was devoted to the Eucharist and to serving the poor and oppressed among Native and African Americans. Pope John Paul II found this women of Philadelphia to be worthy of emulation and beatified her on November 20, 1988. On October 1, 2000, the Holy Father canonized her as Saint Katharine Drexel.

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Saint Elizabeth Chapel

More than a century old, the Motherhouse Chapel is part of a series of buildings in the Old Spanish Mission style. Unfortunately, the heavy Spanish tile came close to collapsing the walls from lack of a strong foundation; stone buttresses solved the problem. Saint Katharine was quick to use this analogously; "Just as this roof almost collapsed so will our spiritual life unless our spiritual foundations are well laid."

Everyone is invited to place a prayer intention in the Apache Burden Basket located next to St. Katharine's crypt. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament pray daily for these intentions.

On display are treasures that St. Katharine used during her life: a childhood desk, a wheelchair, her altar and much more. Native American and African American artifacts enhance the exhibit.

History of Saint Katharine Drexel

Katharine Drexel, a wealthy educated Philadelphia socialite of the 19th century could have made of life what she chose. That choice in the end came out of her strong Catholic faith and deep compassion for the poor and oppressed among Native and African Americans. On February 12, 1891, she made her first vows as a religious, founding the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament dedicated to sharing the message of the Gospel and the life of the Eucharist. Saint Katharine established many ministries. She led a life devoted to uplifting the minds and the spirits of Native and African American men, women and children.

Since her death in 1955, Saint Katharine's Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament have joyously and faithfully continued her work for Eucharistic social justice, despite no longer having her financial resources. Saint Katharine's inherited wealth was disbursed according to her father's will to various charities, not including the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament; the congregation was founded after her father's death.

For more information about Saint Katharine Drexel, visit the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament web site: www.katharinedrexel.org

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