Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center
The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center is a national Catholic faith-based conservation organization that promotes faith, integral ecology, and life.
The center is named in honor of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, patron saint of Indigenous Peoples, integral ecology, and the environment.
The center was founded in 2000, during the papacy of Saint John Paul II.
In 1998, while our founder Bill Jacobs was working for one of the world’s largest nature conservation organizations, it became increasingly apparent that the work of preserving all life on Earth was too big for any one organization. Moreover, it seemed that the work was too big for all the secular conservation groups in the world combined, or even of all people combined. Without reference to God, our Creator and Redeemer, secular conservation efforts alone were not likely to succeed.
Bill could no longer follow a limited view of ecology and conservation that did not permit any mention or consideration of God and spirituality. He set out to create a Catholic faith-based alternative, seeking wisdom and knowledge from the Bible and Tradition of the Church. In these are found the root cause of environmental destruction (sin) and the path to follow to restore God’s creation: the path of Jesus and his saints.
The center collected quotes and writings from the Bible, saints, popes, and other Church leaders, and began to share them on our website library in 2000. At the time we were known as the Catholic Conservation Center. The center has been collecting and sharing writings ever since, and has expanded our programs to include Saint Kateri Habitats and other initiatives designed to build faith and restore creation.
Unlike secular conservation groups, the Saint Kateri Conservation Center places God at the center of our work and recognizes the Holy Spirit present and active in every corner of creation.
In 2018, Kathleen Hoenke joined our volunteer staff as Program Director, followed in 2019 by Ronnie O’Brien as Outreach Coordinator for Indigenous Programs.
The center was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 2012, and designated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in 2014.
The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center, Inc. is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes within the meaning of 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, EIN No.46-1437406.