St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena, born on the 25th of March in the year of grace 1347, in the ancient Tuscan city of Siena, was the twenty-fourth child of a humble yet pious dyer. From the earliest dawn of her girlhood, Catherine manifested an extraordinary love for God, vowing her virginity to Christ at the tender age of seven and seeking solitude for prayer amidst the bustle of a large household.

Though illiterate in youth and unschooled in worldly matters, Catherine was graced with celestial wisdom, which she attributed not to herself but to the merciful instruction of Christ, her Divine Spouse. At sixteen, she entered the Third Order of St. Dominic, donning the black and white habit yet remaining in the world. She lived a life of intense austerity, mystical union, and charitable service, tending the sick and the poor with a gentleness that belied her formidable spiritual strength.

Catherine was granted mystical experiences of the most sublime order, including visions of Our Lord, the reception of the stigmata (invisible during her life), and a mystical espousal to Christ Himself. Yet far from withdrawing into private ecstasy, she ventured forth into the turbulent affairs of Church and State. With startling courage, she wrote to popes and princes alike, calling for repentance, peace, and fidelity to the truth.

Her most celebrated intervention was her entreaty to Pope Gregory XI, urging him to return the papacy from its Babylonian exile in Avignon to its rightful seat in Rome. That a woman, young, unlettered, and cloistered in spirit, should wield such spiritual authority over the great men of her age is a testimony to her sanctity and divine inspiration.

Catherine passed into eternal glory on April 29, 1380, at the age of thirty-three, worn out by penance and love. Canonized in 1461 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970, she remains a radiant torch amidst the shadows of history, an untamed flame of truth, charity, and mystical union with God.

Experts from The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena

“The sign that you have this virtue is patience, and impatience the sign that you have it not, and you will find that this is indeed so, when I speak to you further concerning this virtue.”

“The Devil, dearest daughter, is the instrument of My Justice to torment the souls who have miserably offended Me. And I have set him in this life to tempt and molest My creatures, not for My creatures to be conquered, but that they may conquer, proving their virtue, and receive from Me the glory of victory. And no one should fear any battle or temptation of the Devil that may come to him, because I have made My creatures strong, and have given them strength of will, fortified in the Blood of my Son, which will, neither Devil nor creature can move, because it is yours, given by Me.”

“Even if the Pope were Satan incarnate, we ought not to raise up our heads against him, but calmly lie down to rest on his bosom. He who rebels against our Father is condemned to death, for that which we do to him we do to Christ: we honor Christ if we honor the Pope; we dishonor Christ if we dishonor the Pope. I know very well that many defend themselves by boasting: 'They are so corrupt, and work all manner of evil!' But God has commanded that, even if the priests, the pastors, and Christ-on-earth were incarnate devils, we be obedient and subject to them, not for their sakes, but for the sake of God, and out of obedience to Him.”