“If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire!”
Catherine Benincasa was born during the outbreak of the plague in Siena, Italy in 1347. She was the 25th child born to her mother, although ½ of her brothers and sisters did not survive childhood for this lower middle-class family. Catherine herself was a twin, but her sister did not survive infancy.
At a young age she consecrated her virginity to Christ and experienced mystical visions. At the age of 16, her married sister had died and Catherine’s parents proposed that the widower marry her, but she opposed. She began fasting and cut her hair short to mar her appearance.
Her parents relented and allowed her to live as she pleased. She then joined the Third Order of St. Dominic, which allowed her to associate with a religious society while living at home.
At the age of 21, she changed after she experienced what she refers to as a “mystical marriage to Christ.” In her vision, she was told to re-enter public life and to help the poor and sick which she did. She often visited hospitals and home where the poor and sick were found. Her activities quickly attracted followers who helped her in her mission to serve the sick and poor. She rapidly gained a wide reputation for her holiness and her severe asceticism, denial of desires.
She then began to travel, calling for reform of the Church and people to confess and to love God totally. She became involved in politics and key in keeping city states loyal to the Pope and helped to start a crusade to the Holy Land.
She was instrumental in restoring the Papacy to Rome and in brokering peace deals during a time of factional conflict and war between the Italian city states.
At the age of 30, she established a monastery for women outside of Siena. She composed over 400 letters, her Dialogue, her definitive work, and her prayers. These works are so influential that Catherine would later be declared a Doctor of the Church. She is one of the most influential and popular saints in the Church.
By the age of 33, she became ill, possibly because of her habit of extreme fasting. Her illness accelerated her inability to eat and drink and shortly after, suffered a stroke and died on April 29 in 1380.
She was canonized in 1461 and is the patroness of the United States, Italy, miscarriages, sexual temptation, nurses, illness and fire.
“The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena” was dictated to her secretaries while in ecstasy as a conversation she had with God and can be found at; https://www.catholicplanet.com/ebooks/Dialogue-of-St-Catherine.pdf
“To the servant of God, every place is the right place, and every time is the right time.”
She is the patron saint of fire prevention, protection against miscarriages, nursing, people ridiculed for their piety, against temptations, Siena, Italy, and Italy.
Her feast day is April 29.
For God’s Glory.
