Image credit: “Catherine of Sienna” by Theophilia on DeviantArt
Born in 1347, St. Catherine of Siena was the 25th child in her family. Although half of her siblings did not survive past infancy, the household was always full because her father dyed cloth and had many apprentices. When her mother tried to force her to marry, she refused because she had promised herself to Jesus and even cut off all her hair to make herself less attractive to any suitors!
When Catherine first tried to enter into the Dominican order, she was told she was too young at 15. Only widows and old maids were allowed in. She was so distraught over the news that she became very ill and her mother took her to the countryside to get fresh air and renew herself at the spring. Now, Catherine was very stubborn and got in the spring where it was bubbling out of the earth. People were alarmed when they saw her do this because she was getting burned all over her body! When she didn’t get out right away those around her pulled her out and asked her what on earth she was thinking. Her reply? “I was training my body that if it cannot withstand the heat of the earth then it certainly doesn’t want to spend eternity in hell.”
Click the image for Litany of St. Catherine of Siena
St. Catherine of Siena was a real life Cinderella in the way she served her family in humility. When she cut off her hair and refused to marry, Catherine’s mother fired their maids and made Catherine cook and clean for the whole family. That meant serving her parents, her siblings and all her father’s apprentices! When her confessor asked her how she managed to serve them with such love and not get irritable with them she would say with a smile, “I just pretend that my father is Jesus, my mother is Mary, and my siblings and the apprentices are the apostles and disciples. It’s not hard.”
Catherine was eventually allowed to become a third order Dominican, was given a habit, and lived as if she were a nun but continued to live in her parents house since she was still not allowed to become a nun. Before the world saw the true force Catherine could be, she died. When her friends came to pay their respects, one priest started to hemorrhage. A second priest quickly grabbed Catherine’s, cold, clammy hand and placed it on the chest of the hemorrhaging priest. Not only did the priest stop hemorrhaging, but Catherine gasped back to life! After a quick look around the room she started to cry saying how awful they all were for bringing her back because she had been in Heaven and it was far too ugly here on earth without Jesus!
After adjusting coming back from the dead, Catherine started living what would soon be her most famous quote, “if you are what you ought to be, you will set the whole world on fire.” This woman became such a fierce and gutsy woman. When the plague hit, Catherine’s friend, the head of the hospital, caught the plague. Catherine, taking a break from nursing those already ill, ran to the hospital, threw open the door to her sick friend’s room, and said, “get up! Don’t you know people need you to work?!” He was instantly cured! Another time, a siege hit Siena and Catherine did not run when men came charging towards her. In fact, because she knew Heaven was on the other side, she knelt down, smiling, and waited to be struck down. This frightened her attackers so much that they called the siege to fall back and they left!
However, one of the things she is most remembered for is for her tenacity with the Pope. At the time there was a french Pope who stayed in France because Rome was too dangerous to live in at the time. Catherine constantly wrote to him reminding him that he was not called to a life of comfort in his homeland surrounded by friends and family and must return to where the Pope is supposed to be: Rome. She finally was able to convince the papacy to Rome and continued to serve and counsel when called upon. This little woman, under 5 feet tall, was soon affectionately called “Mama” or “little Mother” by all.
In the weeks before she died, in 1380 - for a final time - Catherine dictated her conversations with God to several of her friends. This book is called The Dialogue. This piece of work, along with her many works here on earth, is what led her to become a doctor of the Church (learn what a Doctor of the Church is and how to become one here). This woman is brave, courageous, and a shining example of true, heroic, Catholicism.
There is so much more on her life that couldn’t fit in this article but we encourage you to continue to learn more about her! St. Catherine of SIena, pray for us!
If you’d like to learn more about St. Catherine of Siena’s life, look into Louis DeWohls’ novel on her: Lay Siege to Heaven.
A free audiobook of the famous Sigrid Undset’s book on St. Catherine can be found on FORMED.org here.
FREE viewing ending today!
Word on Fire with Bishop Robert Barron has given us free access to his episode from Pivotal Players on St. Catherine of Siena. You can watch it here and check out a special deal on a new book on her!