BELLINGHAM — In its 13th year, the St. Kateri Tekakwitha feast day celebration at St. Joachim Parish on the Lummi Reservation saw its largest crowd yet.

The church filled to standing room only for Mass, with the overflow of people extending outside the main and side doors, trying to hear Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo’s homily.

“All the priests coming in today brought tears to my eye,” said Rosalie Scott, a Lummi elder and lifelong parishioner at St. Joachim. “It’s a blessing to see that. … I’m really, really happy today that all these people are honoring St. Kateri Tekakwitha [and] Native American people — people who’ve had a hard time growing up [on] the Lummi Reservation.”

A young man receives communion from Father Stephan Arockia Doss Thomas at St. Joachim Parish in Bellingham during a St. Kateri Tekakwitha feast day celebration July 14, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Foster)

Built in 1861, St. Joachim is one of the archdiocese’s oldest churches, but its rich history is underscored by its connection to St. Kateri.

In 2006, 6-year-old Jake Finkbonner’s parents and doctors expected his death when strep A bacteria started attacking his face after he received a cut on his lip during a basketball game.

Sister Kateri Mitchell, the executive director of the Tekakwitha Conference at the time, came to the hospital and prayed for Finkbonner as she placed a relic of Blessed Kateri on his leg.

The next morning, doctors were stunned to tell his family that the flesh-eating bacteria had stopped. They reconstructed his face, and Finkbonner, a Lummi descendent and St. Joachim parishioner, survived.

Five years later, the Catholic Church declared his healing the second miracle needed to elevate Blessed Kateri to sainthood. She was canonized on Oct. 21, 2012.

Father Jeffrey Moore, left, and Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, right, enter St. Joachim Church to celebrate Mass on the feast day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha July 14. (Photo by Andrew Foster)

“I really, truly believe that the Lord chose the Lummi community on purpose to be the source of St. Kateri’s second miracle,” said Father Jeffrey Moore, pastor of St. Joachim and Parish Family 2. “I believe that there is something the Lord wants to do through St. Kateri in Whatcom County.”

Since her canonization, St. Joachim has hosted a celebration every year on July 14, the saint’s feast day.

A plethora of parishioners from the Whatcom County parish family — Assumption and Sacred Heart parishes in Bellingham, St. Anne Mission in Blaine, St. Joseph Parish in Ferndale, St. Joseph Parish in Lynden and St. Peter Mission in Deming — joined this year’s feast day celebration. Many contributed to the post-Mass potluck by bringing pasta salads, fruit and dessert.

The main courses, however, were fresh salmon, whitefish and crab, caught and cooked by some of the Lummi parishioners.

But before dinner, just after Bishop Elizondo’s final blessing, two Lummi drummers led the bishop and group of priests, which included Father Moore, Father Tyler Johnson, Father Stephan Arockia Doss Thomas and Father Mel Strazicich, out of the church while beating their drums and singing.

“We were there when [the St. Kateri celebrations at St. Joachim] first started, and there [were] hardly any tables or anybody showing up,” Raymond Cagey, one of the drummers, said. “I’m glad everybody’s here. I’m glad to sing for them. It’s a great honor and respect for my family.”

Raymond Cagey, left, and his brother, Henry, lead Bishop Eusebio Elizondo and a group of priests celebrating Mass at St. Joachim Parish in Bellingham for a St. Kateri Tekakwitha feast day celebration July 14, 2025. The brothers beat their drums and sang as they exited the church. (Photo by Andrew Foster)

Cagey and his mother, Beverly, along with Scott and many other Lummi elders who are lifelong parishioners of St. Joachim used to travel across the country to attend Tekakwitha Conferences.

Starting in the 1980s and supported by church fundraising, St. Joachim sent a group of Lummi people to places such as New York, California, North Dakota, South Dakota and Mexico to participate in the conferences, Scott explained.

There, they’d learn about St. Kateri, pray to her, connect with other tribes and Native American Catholics and perform song and dance.

Scott said she continues to pray to St. Kateri every morning.

Many years ago, when the conference was held in Spokane, Scott’s youngest son, Ryan, and niece Michelle were experiencing problems with their ears. After going to the conference and praying to St. Kateri, both teenagers’ ears were healed, Scott said.

“St. Kateri was recognized universally upon her death by both the settlers and the Natives as a holy woman,” Father Strazicich said. “Miracles started happening immediately through her intercession, but for some reason, there never was a formal process to put her through the canonization process until it took off in the 20th century.”

“We’re singing for her and for all the people that she represented,” Raymond Cagey said. “It’s just a blessing to be a part of all this.”

Father Tyler Johnson, left, and Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, right, begin Mass at St. Joachim Parish in Bellingham for a St. Kateri Tekakwitha feast day celebration July 14, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Foster)