Saint Catherine of Siena had an exceptional role in history, unheard of for a woman of her time, defending the See of Peter and fighting for the unity of the Church.
She was born in Siena, Italy, on March 25, 1347, and was so driven by the desire to surrender her life to God that at the age of 7 she consecrated her virginity to Him in a private vow.
Her mother, Lapa, was unaware of the fire that burned within her little girl, the penultimate of the 24 children she bore. When Catherine was 12, her mother and another of her daughters did all they could to have her marry, advising her to take care of her looks. Then the Saint changed her clothing, wearing different adornments in keeping with the fashion of the time.
However, she repented immediately of this show of vanity and wanted to purge her weakness with penitential acts. The setbacks, the harshness of the works they imposed on her, and the rigid treatment she received increased her patience. No one could penetrate her hidden interior, which burned with love of God, except for Him who flooded her with His immense tenderness.
At 15 she was already known for her heroic charity to the poor, to prisoners, to the sick, and to the helpless. She took it all upon herself as a way to expiate her faults. At 16 she took the habit of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. She intensified her prayer and penance in her room, which she converted into a hermitage.
She spent three years like this, which only God and her Confessor knew about. Acute temptations against chastity crowded her mind in a thousand different ways, causing her great disturbance and anxiety. This was followed by profound darkness, which was an even greater trial for the Saint.
She endured it all with humility and trust in God. At the end of the tunnel, when she perceived Christ’s resplendent face, she asked him: “Where were You, my divine Spouse, while I was lying in such an abandoned and terrifying condition? Jesus answered her: “Daughter, I was in your heart, strengthening you by grace.”
Christ crucified held out his arms to her and she made every effort to be like Him.
This ineffable love was singularly corresponded in 1366 with her mystical espousals, sealed with a ring which was always visible to her, but not to other mortals.
In the course of her life, she was graced with many ecstasies, as well as the gift of tears, miracles, and prophecies. In one of her visions, she had the impression that God had taken her heart. And, a few days later, seeing herself enveloped in a light from Heaven, the Saviour appeared to her bringing in His hands a red heart from which an intense glow emanated.
He approached her and opened her left side, introducing His heart into her while saying to her: “Daughter, the other day I took your heart; today I give you mine and henceforth you will have it forever.” He closed her side but the scar was visible. From then on, she usually said to Him: “Lord, I commend my heart to You.”
She began an intense apostolic life in 1369. Indifferent to the very great risk she ran of contracting leprosy, she looked after the sick. She mastered her will, overcoming her natural repulsion in an act similar to Saint Francis of Assisi’s, kissing the purulent sores of one of those unhappy victims.
Her action during the plague that scourged the country was also admirable. God rewarded her ardent charity through various miracles. She converted many sinners, incapable of ignoring her exhortations, with which she pointed them to a life of penance. Many followed her because she brought them peace and consolation, opening to them the way of love of God.
There were those who called her a hypocrite and a fanatic, but others considered her a saint. On April 1, 1375, she was blessed with the stigmata of Christ’s Passion, which in her case were not of blood but of light.
She was a great reconciler in her family and elsewhere, as she did when she learned that Florence was adhering to a League against the Holy See. Its members ignored Gregory XI’s demands; he was residing in Avignon, and accepted Catherine’s mediation; she succeeded in convincing the magistrates.
The Pope, in admiration of her prudence and virtue, said to her: I don’t want anything other than peace. I leave this issue totally in your hands, I only commend to you the honor of the Church.” Nevertheless, the very serious disagreements persisted. But perhaps the most significant event was her role in the Church. Romans’ complaints intensified, given the absence of the last Pontiffs from the See of Rome, which had already lasted 64 years of residence in Avignon, and with it the threats of a schism.
Gregory XI decided to return, but this sentiment, which he confided prudently to the Court, did not get approved. He consulted Saint Catherine of Siena who, knowing, through revelation, the Pontiff’s intimate decision, said to him: “Fulfil your promise made to God.” Her determination and tenderness penetrated the Holy Father.
She had called him “sweet Christ on earth, saying to him: “Manful courage, Father! As I am telling you not to tremble.” The Pope was impressed and decided to return to Rome. In 1378 the Saint succeeded in having Florence accept the authority of Pope Urban VI, Successor of Gregory XI. When Urban VI called her through her Confessor, to go to Rome, at the start of the great schism in which he was implicated together with Clement VII, Catherine went there, where she died on April 29, 1380, eight days after having suffered a stroke. She was 33.
It was difficult for her to learn to read, and she was able to write as an adult. Among other masterworks, she bequeathed us “The Dialogue of Divine Providence,” dictated in her cell in Siena. Pius II canonized her on April 29, 1461. She was declared Patroness of Italy, together with Saint Francis of Assisi, in 1939. Paul VI proclaimed her Doctor of the Church on October 4, 1970. John Paul II designated her Co-Patroness of Europe on October 1, 1999.
© Isabel Orellana Vilches , 2018
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