Feast of St. Catherine of Siena

Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.

- St. Catherine of Siena

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, a Doctor of the Church, a mystic and a woman who influenced the history of the Middle Ages in Europe. Catherine lived during the time of the Black Death or bubonic plague, another one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

Catherine was canonized in 1416, 81 years after she died. Pope Pius XII declared her co-patron of Italy along with St. Francis of Assisi in 1939 as World War II began to erupt in Europe. In 1970 she was declared a Doctor of the Church (exemplar and teacher), one of the first women to have been conferred the honor.

Born on the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25th) in 1347, Catherine was the 23rd of 25 children (her twin sister died when she was three months old) born to Lapa and Giacomo di Benincasa. Her father was a prosperous wool dyer in the city of Siena. The year she was born, the plague had reached Sicily via Genoese trading ships from the Black Sea. It is said that four-fifths of the population of Siena died from the plague the following year. There were several successive waves of the disease during Catherine’s lifetime.This plague killed 50 million people, approximately 60% of the population of Europe during the 14th century. Catherine cared for many victims of this plague, even helping to bury the dead. As a result, she has become the patron saint of nurses and those who care for the sick.

Tradition tells us that when she was about six or seven years old she had a mystical experience and decided to commit her life to God. When she was an adolescent she cut off her hair as a protest against her mother encouraging her to dress more appropriately in order to attract a husband. Her father eventually gave her a small room in the family home where she could meditate, fast and pray in private.

At eighteen she joined the Third Order Dominicans and a small group of followers gathered and grew around her in response to her spiritual writings (which she dictated as she could not read or write) and conversations. Within her writings she became rather outspoken about political and church issues. Many of these letters were addressed to religious men and women, soldiers, popes and princes. At one point she was accused of being a charlatan and summoned to appear before a Dominican Tribunal. The charges against her were found to be invalid and were dropped.

Like St. Francis of Assisi, Catherine was a recipient of the stigmata, but the wounds remained invisible to all until after her death

The era in which Catherine lived, prayed and served was a bleak and cynical time. There was extraordinary turmoil in Europe, people were despondent and fearful because of the plague, they had diminished confidence in the Church, civic institutions and political leaders. There was a feeling of helplessness because of the troubles that appeared to be beyond human control. Catherine consistently prayed and shared a message of peace, compassion and hope. She never wavered in her faith in Christ and the Church.

Catherine is known as a woman who yielded influence with regard to the papacy. Parallel to the pandemic were the political troubles of the Church regarding the Avignon Papacy that had begun several decades even before Catherine was born. The popes lived there in exile from 1309 to 1377. When Gregory XI was elected in 1370, he was weak and irresolute French pope, very loyal to France, and was expected to retain the papacy in Avignon. But against all odds, Catherine made a personal journey to the papal court and convinced him to return to Rome. In 1376 she traveled to Avignon to broker peace between the people of Florence and Pope Gregory XI. She did not succeed; however she was able to convince the pope to return to Rome.

In 1378 a rival papacy was set up under Clement VII, igniting the Great Schism. Catherine wrote countless letters to the princes of Europe asking them to recognize Pope Urban VI in Rome as the pope. Her efforts were noticed and Urban invited her to Rome to serve as an advisor. Soon after she died in Rome of a stroke in 1380. Her body is buried at Sopra Minvera in Rome, the Dominican church near the Pantheon. Her head is in the Basilica San Domenico in Siena.

Despite the many hardships and challenges Catherine faced and rose to in her lifetime, it is moving to reflect that she herself never seemed to falter, despair or succumb to cynicism towards life or her love for the Church. Instead, her love of Christ and the Church deepened over her lifetime. Catherine believed deeply that a love of God and love of neighbor were the cornerstones to her faith. She lived her life ministering to the sick, and attempting to broker peace and reconciliation with popes and princes, in the face of tremendous discord and hatred.

Catherine lived in the time of a horrible pandemic and served those who were sick, as well as being at the side of those who were dying. Her care for victims of the plague offers us hope as we face this current health crisis today.

St. Catherine of Siena, a Doctor of the Church and a woman of deep compassion and mercy who counseled popes and paupers had a message of peace, forgiveness and hope. May we pray that she guides us during these days.

Alexandria M. Egler, PhD

Executive Director
Mission, Ministry & Interfaith Dialogue