St. Catherine of Siena: An Introduction

Last week's article on Hildegard of Bingen inspired me. The next few weeks will be devoted to the study of individual women who hold a remarkable place in church history for a variety of reasons. I’m looking forward to the chance to learn more about these women as well.

This week's article is devoted to the fourteenth century nun and mystic, St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). Catherine was a remarkable mystic. Her visions began when she was a very young child, and by the age of seven, she had consecrated her virginity to Christ. At sixteen, she became a Dominican Tertiary. She lived as a recluse in her family home for the next three years, until she achieved a "spiritual espousal" with Christ in a vision and was driven to tend the sick.

Even as a young child, she was particularly ascetic, especially in relation to food. After her spiritual espousal, Catherine was known to sustain on nothing more than the wafer of the Host taken at Mass for long periods. The ascetic practices of her youth continued throughout her life, yet for all this, Catherine was known as a charming and warm person, who drew others around her.

Catherine is best known for her social and political influence during the last decade of her life. Beginning in 1370, Catherine began to write letters, sometimes encouraging and other times quite scathing, to many of the social, religious and political officials of the time. She actively condemned the anti-Pope and offered encouragement to the true Pope, even referring to him by an affectionate nickname. She wrote letters to political officials involved in the struggle and to many of the great religious minds of her day. She was even summoned into service to act as an ambassador during a conflict between the city of Florence and the Holy See.

As was well suited to an ascetic, Catherine died a slow and painful death after praying that she be allowed to bear the punishment for the sins of the world.

Catherine of Siena was canonized less than a century after her death, and in 1970 was proclaimed one of the first female Doctors of the Church for her influential writings.

For more information on Catherine of Siena, please see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03447a.h... http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/stcath... http://www.ccel.org/c/catherine/dialog/d...

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