"I'm never going to stop going to parties as long as I live!" said the young debutante Katy Drexel in 1879. As a member of one of Philadelphia's most wealthy families, Kate's life was full of beautiful clothes, handsome suitors, and exciting trips to far places. But the Drexels had more than money: they had a deep concern for the welfare of the poor. Kate soon realized that parties were not enough.

Katy and her family met and visited many missionaries who were helping neglected people all over the United States. She became especially interested in the plight of Indians and Negroes and vowed to aid them with every means available to her.

How would she accomplish this goal? It was Pope Leo XIII who gave her the answer. "My child," he said, "why do you not yourself become their missionary?" Katy Drexel became Mother Katharine, foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. She was to give them not only her wealth and her prayers, but the work of her hands and heart as well. 

Here is the stirring and dramatic story of Mother Katharine's struggle to educate these citizens who wanted, above all, to learn. Against indifference and prejudice, from Washington to Georgia, from Arizona to Massachusetts, she opened THE DOOR OF HOPE to thousands.

From the dust jacket