March 2 - Catherine of Siena

March 2 – Catherine of Siena

As a little girl, Catherine desired to be the bride of Christ. When she was 16 years old, she joined a community of Dominicans, spending her time in prayer and fasting. One day she had a vision that she was to care for the poor. Along with other Dominicans, she came back to the real world and took care of people through the time of the plague.

She was a scholar and wrote many letters, 300 of which still exist. She wrote to everyone, from everyday folks to the pope, who was still in Avignon. She encouraged Gregory XI to return to Rome in order to heal the church’s difference. While she traveled, she preached against the ‘stench of sin’ that was coming from Avignon. She finally traveled to visit him in Avignon and he made the decision to move the papacy back to Rome.

Catherine’s letters are considered great works of Tuscan literature. She wrote to Queens and Kings, Popes and mercenaries. Her other major work is a story of a soul rising to God and God Himself – “The Dialogue of Divine Providence.”

In 1377 the pope did return to Rome, but the struggle wasn’t over. They were tired of a French pope and wanted a Roman. When he died, the cardinals compromised and elected an Italian to the papacy.

Pope Urban VI did not support the French and this created a new Schism. The French cardinals went back to Avignon and Clement VII was elected. This dual papacy lasted for 39 years.

Catherine died in 1380 at the age of thirty-three. She had quit eating and for awhile quit taking in any water, but stopped that because of the severity of it. The only food she took in was the wafer of bread from communion which she took every day. She hadn’t fixed the issue of the dual papacy, but her care for the church and its people gave her a great place in the history of the church. Along with Francis of Assisi, she is a patron saint of Italy.