Overview
- The Church celebrates her each April 29, with outlets today highlighting her life and sharing a prayer for the faithful.
- Born in Siena in 1347 as Caterina Benincasa, she entered the Dominican Third Order and chose a life of prayer and service.
- She nursed the sick during epidemics and comforted the poor and dying, building a reputation for concrete aid and spiritual guidance.
- Her mystical life included a reported “mystical marriage” in 1366 and visions in which she chose a crown of thorns as a sign of sacrifice.
- She pressed the pope to return to Rome and advised church leaders and rulers, and her recognition grew from canonization in 1461 to her 1970 title of Doctor of the Church, with veneration as a patron of Europe and Italy.