Saint Catherine of Siena

Catherine was born at Siena, Tuscany in Italy and was one of 26 children . She had many siblings but unfortunately, about half of them died at an early age, including Catherine’s twin sister. It was a busy household and Catherine was a cheerful, smart, and  devout child. When she was 5 or 6 year old, she saw her first vision while walking home, of Jesus enthroned in heaven surrounded by the Apostles Peter, Paul, and John.

Her mother and father wanted her to be happily married. But, Catherine wished only to be a nun. To make herself as unattractive as possible, she cut off her long, beautiful hair. Her parents were very upset and scolded her often. They also gave her the most difficult housework to do. But Catherine did not change her mind. St. Dominic himself appeared to her in a vision, which convinced her to be a Dominican tertiary, something that at the time was normally reserved for widows. She also got special permission to wear a habit. Finally, her parents stopped bothering her and allowed her to become a nun.

When Catherine was 21 years old, the little baby Jesus and his mother Mary appeared to Catherine who was praying alone in her room. Mary took Catherine’s hand and the infant Jesus put a ring on the saint’s finger and she became his bride. Although only Catherine could see this ring, this mystical marriage to Jesus filled her heart with love and joy and she answered her call to go out in the world and serve the poor.

St. Catherine was drawn further into the world as she worked, and eventually she began to travel, calling for reform of the Church and for people to confess and to love God totally. In those days the Church had many problems. There were fights going on all over Italy. Catherine wrote letters to kings and queens. She even went to beg rulers to make peace with the pope and to avoid wars. Catherine asked the pope to leave Avignon, France, and return to Rome to rule the Church as it was God’s will. He listened to St. Catherine and did as she said. She was a peacemaker and was respected by many for her service and good council. During a visit to the city of Pisa, Catherine received the stigmata from a wooden cross hanging in the Church of Santa Cristina, but just like her ring, this crown and stigmata was only seen by her.

Catherine went on to write over 400 letters to help Christians understand their faith so they would love Jesus and the Church even more. It’s because of these writings and her bold service to the Church that she became a Doctor of the Church.

This great saint died of a stroke in 1380 when she was just thirty-three. The people of Siena wanted to have her body.  There was a miracle told in which they were partially successful.  Knowing that they could not smuggle her whole body out of Rome, they decided to take only her head, which they placed in a bag.  When stopped by the Roman guards, they prayed to St Catherine to help them.  When they opened the bag to show the guards, it appeared no longer to hold her head but to be full of rose petals.  Once they got back to Siena they reopened the bag and her head was visible again.  Due to this story, St Catherine is often seen holding a rose. The incorruptible head and thumb were entombed in the Basilica of San Domenico, where they remain today.

In my research on St. Catherine’s life, I found this bio to be one of the best. Please read more about the life of this amazing Saint.

A quick overview of St. Catherine’s life story…

Saint Catherine…pray for us!