Saint of Siena Catherine

Born in Siena on March 25, 1347, Catherine of Siena grew up in a large working family and became a Dominican tertiary while still a young woman. She became known for a life of prayer, severe self-discipline, and service to the sick and poor, but she was never cut off from the world around her.

Catherine wrote hundreds of letters and became an unusually bold public voice, urging peace among Italian city-states and calling church leaders to reform. She is especially remembered for her efforts during the troubled years when the papacy was based in Avignon, and for The Dialogue, the spiritual work most closely linked with her name.

She died in Rome on April 29, 1380, at only thirty-three. Canonized in 1461, she was later named a Doctor of the Church, and she remains one of the patron saints of Italy.