He was followed by other Popes who have granted indulgences and privileges to pilgrims coming to the Sacred place to venerate the saint. The first time we went to visit Saint Catherine, it was out of holy curiosity; her body was in-corrupt! Copyright (c) 2010 Bob and Penny Lord's Site, Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. Author and Publisher - Catholic Online The beauty of her life and death encourages us to live in perfect charity as a Lenten goal. After being examined by doctors, the body remained exposed for the devotion of the faithful for six days, and was then placed in a crypt under the altar. Encourage children to be creative in decorating their pages. It was first printed in 1475, and went through 21 later editions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including being translated into Latin, French, Portuguese, English, Spanish, and German. ", Although she was sickly from the time that she was 22, she never complained. Therefore, we cannot end these lines without uniting ourselves, if only in spirit, to the endless procession of devotees who come to pray at her feet. Copyright Aleteia SAS all rights reserved. On one Christmas eve she had a vision of the Blessed Virgin, who placed the Infant Jesus in her arms. Part of this book describes at length her visions both of God and of Satan. While they were unable to account for this, Catherine, knowing the source of all good from whom this miraculous event proceeded, began to give out the wine openly and unstintingly to all the poor people she knew, but even then the cask showed no signs of drying up or the wine of losing its flavor. St. Catherine of Bologna was born in Italy in 1413. She was a model of piety and reported experiencing miracles and several visions of Christ, the Virgin Mary, Thomas Becket, and Joseph, as well as future events, such as the fall of Constantinople in 1453. In her early twenties she experienced a spiritual espousal to Christ and was moved to immediately begin serving the poor and sick, gaining disciples in the process. Her own experience taught her how to protect them from the snares of the devil. WebThe Deliverance of St. Peter; The Healing of the Lame Man; The Dispute of St. Catherine; Miracle of the Black Sea; John Shipley. WebAt age 49, she became gravely ill and died a few months later. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Click the link below! St. Catherine of Siena died at age 33 in Rome, and most of her body is buried there at Santa Maria sopra Minerva basilica. Catherine, then 14, joined a group of Franciscan tertiaries in Ferrara who later adopted the Rule of St. Clare. While the sisters were burying her body in the monastery cemetery, a mysterious and sweet perfume began to waft from the place, pervading the entire surroundings. She was buried without a coffin and her body was exhumed eighteen days later because of many cures attributed to her at her graveside and the sweet scent coming from her grave. WebThe Deliverance of St. Peter; The Healing of the Lame Man; The Dispute of St. Catherine; Miracle of the Black Sea; John Shipley. She wrote the Treatise on the 7 Spiritual Weapons Necessary for Spiritual Warfare. Kings, clergy and common people have knelt before her, filled with wonder at being able to venerate her up close. Read her story here. At just 17 years old, Catherine joined a semi-religious lay community and later went on to join other women in founding a monastery of the Order of Poor Clares. The record of her ecstatic experiences in The Dialogue illustrates her doctrine of the inner cell of the knowledge of God and of self into which she withdrew. Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Her body was discovered incorrupt and remains so today. There she was able to study literature, poetry, music and painting, revealing exceptional artistic gifts, which she put to use with remarkable unpretentiousness, and which explain her designation as patroness of artists. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. And how is it that she has remained seated there for so many years? The Poor Clares of Bologna decided to place the former abbess body in a room inside the annexed Church of Corpus Domini, where her remains are still found today, more than 500 years later, in sitting position, holding a golden cross and a copy of the Holy Bible. In 1432, Catherine and other young women of Ferrara founded a monastery of the Order of Poor Clares, an order founded by St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. They found it in perfect condition. The novice mistress blessed her and the young woman, feeling immediately free of the infernal enemy, asked the Saint what words she had said. Because of her artistic talent, she was declared patron saint of the arts. After a short final stay in Siena, during which she completed The Dialogue (begun the previous year), she went to Rome in November, probably at the invitation of Pope Urban VI, whom she helped in reorganizing the church. Throughout her life Catherine claimed to have visions and revelations. Yet in all these situations she was always holding the Lords hand, she did not leave him, she did not abandon him. She accepted the offer and, together with 12 nuns from her home monastery of Ferrara, she helped found the Corpus Domini monastery in Bologna. Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you. Some of her artwork can still be seen today in a museum in Venice. As Catherine used her talents to honor and glorify God, she is the patroness of artists. She felt forsaken by God, she found herself in the darkness of faith. In this state, almost in agony, the abbess fell into an ecstasy and had a vision: she found herself in an wonderful garden, adorned with many beautiful flowers. It was later translated in French and Italian, thus helping to spread late-medieval vernacular mysticism in the early modern period. Learn about this Italian saint, whose feast is March 9. Catherine became a tertiary (member of a monastic third order who takes simple vows and may remain outside a convent or monastery) of the Dominican order (1363), joining the Sisters of Penitence of St. Dominic in Siena. Previously, she had been in a Chapel inside the Monastery. Troubled by the temptations of the devil at that time, St. Catherine prayed day and night, asking for divine light to shine upon her, until one night St. Thomas of Canterbury appeared to her, dressed in pontifical vestments. Princess Margaret of Ferrara grew very fond of Catherine and even asked her to stay as her official companion after she had been officially engaged to a local nobleman. Defenders of Christendom Battles - Honor - Miracles! When at times it seemed to her that her afflicted body would be justified in complaining, she would say to herself, "O bundle of corruption, which will soon turn into dust, why should you complain? Catherine represents the rare phenomenon of a 15th-century nunan artist whose artworks are preserved in her personal breviary. As was the custom of the Poor Clares, she was buried without a coffin. But you will no longer be able to prevent me when from all parts of the world the faithful will come to visit you and, with profound veneration, will kneel to kiss your feet!. She was declared a doctor of the church in 1970 and a patron saint of Europe in 1999. She left Ferrara in July 1456 with 12 sisters to start the new community and remained abbess there until her death on 9 March 1463. WebCatherine began to have visions of Christ and Satan, and wrote her experiences down. At the time, the city of Ferrara was becoming a cultural center, providing the young girls with an excellent education in music, literature, painting, and dancing. She was particularly solicitous for the sick sisters. Hence she was also loved by all of them. Her most famous work is probably the, Seven Spiritual Weapons Necessary for Spiritual Warfare. St Catherine's body has remained incorrupt and retains its quality of flexibility like that of a living body. In 1456 she founded in Bologna a convent of Poor Clares, serving as abbess until her death. Catherine willingly served in humble roles at the convent, including laundress, baker, and animal caretaker. In 1426, at 13-years-old, she entered the convent of Corpus Domini at Ferrara and became a Franciscan Tertiary. [12] She meditated while she copied the scriptural text, adding about 1000 prayer rubrics, and drew initials with bust-portraits of saints, paying special attention to images of Clare and Francis. She and Margaret were educated together by a private tutor. Saint Catherine of Bologna was charged with the duties of the bakery; she cheerfully undertook this laborious service, and even when the heat began to affect her eyes, she remained at her post as long as the abbess required it. One of the prayers written in the aforementioned book gives us a glimpse of this: My sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, who by Thine infinite and inexpressible charity suffered cruel torments tied to a pillar, and endured the rough and harsh blows of Thine enemies for my salvation, I beg Thee to grant me such fortitude that with Thy grace I may prevail and endure with patience this and every other battle.4. At just 17 years old, Catherine joined a semi-religious lay community and later went on to join other women in founding a monastery of the Order of Poor Clares. Annunciation; Miraculous Draught of Fish; Transfiguration; Raising of Lazarus; Resurrection; Amanda Weaver. She rapidly gained a wide reputation for her holiness and her severe asceticism. So extraordinary was their music that Catherine feared that her soul would leave her body at that moment. Her body was found to be flexible and uncorrupted. [15] Other panel paintings and manuscripts attributed to her include the Madonna and Child (nicknamed the Madonna del Pomo) in the Cappella Della Santa, a possible portrait or self-portrait in the autograph copy of the Sette Armi Spirituali, a Redeemer, and another Madonna and Child in her chapel. Soon, the women decided to join an order of nuns called the Poor Clares. WebThe grievous and persistent temptations which in the early days of her religious life had tried her patience, humility, and faith, especially the latter virtue, gave place in later years to the most abundant spiritual consolation, and enjoyment of the heights of contemplation. During her years in the palace, Catherine also discovered that God was calling her to a more simple and prayerful life. http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/prospero-fontana/ To pilgrims coming to the Sacred place to venerate the saint annunciation ; Draught... Including laundress, baker, and animal caretaker age 49, she did leave. 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