St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Throughout the 1300’s, the Church was facing schism and division as the Popes moved to Avignon. It was a woman, St. Catherine of Siena, who used her personal influence to bring the popes back to Rome. Gregory XI wanted to bring the papacy back to Rome, but he was afraid of what the French King and the French cardinals would do. Catherine traveled to Avignon and persuaded him to return. She told him:

Even if you have not been very faithful in the past, begin now to follow Christ, whose vicar you are, in real earnest. And do not be afraid… Attend to things spiritual, appointing good shepherds and good rulers in the cities under your jurisdiction… Above all, delay no longer in returning to Rome.

Catherine died in 1380 at age 33, but she was one of the most remarkable women in the history of the Church. (In 1970 she and Teresa of Avila were the first two women to be declared Doctor of the Church. The third was Therese of Lisieux in 1997.) Like Teresa, she was a profound mystic who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind: “It is through silence that the world is lost.”

The 25th child of a wool dyer in northern Italy, St. Catherine started having mystical experiences when she was only 6, seeing guardian angels as clearly as the people they protected. She became a Dominican tertiary when she was 16, and continued to have visions of Christ, Mary, and the saints. St. Catherine was one of the most brilliant theological minds of her day, although she never had any formal education. In 1375 she received the Stigmata, which was visible only after her death. Her Dialogues are some of the most profound spiritual writing in Church History.