St. Catherine of Siena
Born: March 25, 1347
Died: April 29, 1380
Feast Day: April 29
Patron of: Italy
When you know what God wants you to do, don’t let anything stand in your way. That certainly could have been an unspoken motto of Saint Catherine of Siena.
The youngest of 25 children, Catherine announced at a young age her intentions to live only for God. she soon found that her parents had other ideas—especially as their youngest developed into something of a beauty. Catherine was too pretty not to marry, said her mother, and that began a battle of wills. Her mother insisted she take better care of her appearance; Catherine cut her long, beautiful hair and prayed for illness to fade her beauty. (Her prayers were answered) when her mother made her chief cook, bottlewasher, and cleaner-upper for the household of 27, Catherine worked cheerfully and still found time for prayer.
After finally outlasting her parents’ objection, Catherine joined the Dominicans. She thus began a life of caring for lepers and victims of the Black Plague.
In her late 20s, Catherine began to correspond with Pope Gregory XI. she minced no words; bring the papal residence back to Rome, where it belonged. She knew such a move would bring some peace to the warring states of Italy, as well as bring the Pope back to his responsibility and away from the easy life in exile in Avignon, where it had been for 74 years. To drive home her point, Catherine visited the Pope in Avignon, and saw for herself the French cardinals’ mistresses and the luxurious papal court. She astonished Gregory by reminding him of his promise to God that he would move the papacy back to Rome- a vow he had spoken of to no one. Leaning on her strength of mind and her certainty of God’s will, Gregory, a Frenchman, was able to pick up and leave for Rome, literally stepping over his own pleading father on the way out.
Throughout her life Catherine placed great emphasis on fasting and physical suffering, getting by on little sleep and almost no food. Modern biographers have traced the clear symptoms of the fatal disease of anorexia nervosa in Catherine’s life, ending in her death at only 33. Biographer Anne Baldwin, however, describes the particular shape the disease took in Catherine’s life: “Any anorectic might suffer great pain. Only someone who knew and shared God’s love for humankind could turn that suffering into a willing sacrifice for the salvation of souls. Any anorectic might have tremendous periods of energy. Only one who took the Gospel seriously would use that energy to care for God’s needy.”
Image: Wikimedia Commons
