St.
Catherine of Siena,
(c. 1333/1347-1380), entered the Third Order of
the Dominicans at the age of 16. She was both an ascetic and a mystic and
soon attracted a number of followers, both men and women. Catherine tried
to express her ideals in her Dialogue and in her letters, which were all
dictated by her, because she never learnt to write.
She received stigmata (holy marks similar to those of
the five wounds of Christ Crucified) in 1375 while she was working on ecclesiastical
peace during the Avignon papacy.
Later she was sent as an ambassadress from Italy to Avignon, where
she managed to convince Pope Gregory IX to return to Rome. Catherine worked
much to repair the damage to the church done by its division.
Catherine was canonized in 1461 by the Sienese Pope Pius III. In 1970
she was declared a Doctor of the Church.
She is the patron saint of Siena and Italy, the second patron of Rome.
Feast day: 29 April.
See: Fra Bartolommeo The
Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena, with Eight Saint,
God
the Father in Glory with St. Mary Magdalene and St. Catherine of Siena.
Luca Signorelli. SS.
Catherine of Siena, Mary Magdalene and Jerome.
Recommended reading:
The
Book of Saints: The Lives of the Saints According to the Liturgical Calendar
by George Angelini, Victor Hoagland (Editor). Regina Press, Malhame &
Company, 1986.
St.
Catherine of Siena: The Story of the Girl Who Saw Saints in the Sky
by Mary Fabyan Windeatt, Helen Louise Beccard (Illustrator). Tan Books
& Publishers, Inc., 1994.
Catherine
of Siena : The Dialogue (Classics of Western Spirituality)
by Sr. Susan Noffke, Catherine, Giuliana Cavallini (Photographer). Paulist
Press, 1988.
Catherine
of Siena: Passion for the Truth Compassion for Humanity: Selected Spiritual
Writings by Catherine, Mary O'Driscoll. New City Press, 1994.
Life
of Total Prayer: Selected Writings of Catherine of Siena (Upper
Room Spiritual Classics. Series 3) by Catherine, Beasley-Topliffe (Editor).
Upper Room, 2000.
Voices
of the Saints: A Year of Readings by Bert Ghezzi (Author).
Image Books, 2002.