Christian Men and Women

Saint Catherine of Siena

Saint Catherine was born in 1347 in Siena, Italy and she came from a very large family. In fact she was the 24th out of 25 children. At the age of six she had her first vision of Christ and from a very early age she knew that he had a special message for her.

Catherine dedicated much of her life to helping the ill and the poor, where she took care of them in hospitals or homes. Catherine also made her views known by writing letters to many men and women and she began to influence figures in authority and she begged for peace between the republics and principalities of Italy and for the return of the Papacy from Avignon to Rome. At that time the Pope was not living in Rome but in France because of the many wars. Catherine met with Pope Gregory XI and told him that she had a message from Christ telling her that the Pope should return to the Rome. She impressed the Pope so much that he returned his administration to Rome in January, 1377.

St Catherine died of a stroke in Rome, in the Spring of 1380, at the age of thirty-three. Saint Catherine's body is buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome, which is near the Pantheon in Rome.

Some of the virtues that Catherine displayed throughout her life were Prudence, Justice, Restraint (Temperance), Courage (Fortitude), Faith, Hope and Love (Charity).