The Mystic
Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena, with Eight Saints
by Fra
Bartolommeo |
St. Catherine of
Siena, born 25 March 1347, at the age of 16 entered the Third Order
of the Dominicans. She was both an ascetic and a mystic and soon attracted
a number of followers. She received stigmata (holy marks similar
to those of the five wounds of Christ Crucified) in 1375 while she was working
on ecclesiastical peace during the Avignon papacy. Later she was sent as
an ambassadress from Italy to Avignon, where she managed to convince Papa
Gregory IX to return to Rome. Catherine worked much to repair the damage
to the church, made by its division. She died in April 1380. She is the
patron saint of Siena and Italy, the second patron of Rome. |
