Catherine Benincasa was born in Siena around 1347. It is said that she had a vision at the age of seven. To avoid marriage, she became a Dominican tertiary among the Sisters of Penitence. Around her, a small spiritual family of friends formed.
Soon, Catherine began to engage in political-religious activities aimed at pacifying Italy in preparation for a crusade. Her successes were limited, as the saint was largely unaware of the true political situation of the society she was trying to influence. The Order of Preachers (Dominicans) grew uneasy about Catherine’s actions, and she had to defend herself at the general chapter held in Florence in May 1374. There, she was assigned Friar Raymond of Capua as her spiritual director, who would later become her biographer.
Raymond reports that the saint received the stigmata supernaturally before her death; she always concealed them, and they were only discovered on her body after she died. Catherine continued to work for the crusade, peace in Italy, the Pope’s return to Rome, the unity of the Church in the West, the reform of the Roman Curia, and the practice of charity. Although she was heard by Popes Gregory XI and Urban VI, her efforts achieved very limited success. Discouraged, the saint withdrew into silence and prayer.
She died in Rome on April 29, 1380, and was canonized on the same day in 1461. She is the author of The Dialogue of Divine Providence, a large collection of letters, and various prayers. In the 19th century, she was declared co-patroness of Rome, and in 1939, she became the principal patroness of Italy, alongside Saint Francis of Assisi. The current calendar restores her commemoration to its original date (since 1628, it had been celebrated one day later).
On October 4, 1970, Pope Paul VI conferred the title of Doctor of the Church upon Saint Catherine: she was the second woman (after Saint Teresa of Ávila and before Saint Thérèse of Lisieux) to receive this distinction.
