Saint Catherine

Collage representation of Saint Catherine of Siena.

Saint Catherine was born in 1347 on the feast of the Annunciation; a very auspicious birthday in the 14th century. Her visions of Christ began as early as 5 years old, during which she pledged herself as the bride of Christ, cutting her hair to avoid romantic attention and crafting a life of seclusion, fasting, and constant prayer. This pledge would reach its conclusion in one of her most compelling visions, where she was wed to Jesus and gifted a ring that only she could see.

Inspired by the Desert Fathers of the early Church, St Catherine lived in extreme isolation and mortification after entering the convent. She was often seen crawling on her knees in prayer and engaging in self-degradation, such as tending to the sick by licking their wounds, during which she would receive continued visions. While she was never formally educated, she claimed that these ecstasies gifted her the ability to read and write in Latin, after which she became a prolific epistolist. Her letters, which were even exchanged with the pope, spoke of religious devotion in sensual terms, discussing the “fire of holy desire” which inspires the faithful. The body and its senses, whether in divine pleasure or self-begotten pain, were referenced as instruments of her relationship with the Lord, through which she manifested his will and presence upon Earth.

Saint biography by: Melissa Madara