St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena

Born in 1347, this well-known saint is the patroness of Italy, her country. Catherine was the youngest in a family of twenty-five children. Her mother and father wanted her to be happily married. But Catherine wanted very much to become a nun. To prove her point, she cut off her long, beautiful hair. She wanted to make herself unattractive. Her parents were very upset about this and scolded her frequently. They also gave her the heaviest housework to do. But Catherine did not back down. Finally, her parents stopped opposing her.  Catherine became closer and closer to Jesus. One night, when many people of Siena were out in the streets celebrating, Jesus appeared to Catherine who was praying alone in her room. With Jesus was his Blessed Mother. She took Catherine’s hand and lifted it up to her Son. Jesus put a ring on Catherine’s finger and she became his bride.  In Catherine’s time, the Church had many problems. There were fights going on all over Italy. Catherine wrote letters to kings and queens. She even went to beg rulers to make peace with the pope and to avoid wars. Catherine asked the pope to leave Avignon, France, and return to Rome to guide the Church. She told him it was God’s will. He listened to Catherine and did what she said.  Catherine never forgot that Jesus was in her heart. Through her, Jesus helped the sick people she nursed. Through her Jesus comforted the prisoners she visited in jail.  This great saint died in Rome in 1380. She was just thirty-three years old. She was proclaimed a saint by Pope Pius II in 1461. In 1970, Pope Paul VI declared St. Catherine a Doctor of the Church. She received this great honor because she served Jesus’ Church heroically during her brief lifetime.

  Let’s offer our whole hearts to God. Then, like St. Catherine, we’ll discover how wonderful it is to love him! This love of God will also show in the way we treat other people.