Enslaved in North Africa
Katharine Drexel was born in Philadelphia on November 26, 1858, the second child of a rich banker, Francis Anthony Drexel, and his wife, Hannah Langstroth.
Katharine’s mother died when she was five weeks old. Two years later her father remarried. With his new wife, Emma Bouvier, he had another daughter, Louisa. The girls were the beneficiaries of a brilliant education, travelling across Europe and the United States.
The Drexels were devout and practised spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Katharine grew up seeing her father spend 30 minutes in prayer everyday and her stepmother opening their house every week to look after the poor.
