Who is St. Catherine? What is her contribution to the Catholic Faith?

St. Catherine of Siena, a co-patron saint of Italy and Europe together with St. Francis of Assisi. She is also
a Dominican tertiary and mystic who lived in Italy in the 1300s. In addition, she was known for her
holiness, asceticism, and spiritual visions and was said to have received stigmata.

Furthermore, her stigmata wounds were invisible to people other than herself until she died. She
received the stigmata in 1375. After receiving Communion at the St. Christina red rays shot from the
crucifix and pierced her.

Catherine’s writings, all of which were dictated, include about 380 letters, 26 prayers, and the 4 treatises
of Il libro della divina dottrina, better known as The Dialogue (c. 1475; Eng. trans. by Suzanne Noffke,
1980). 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.

Moreover, her dialogues, one of the classics of Italian literature, are the record of her mystical visions
which she dictated in a state of mystical ecstasy.

In conclusion, her works of writing made a powerful impact on the Catholic faith.

She died in Rome on April 29, 1380, at the age of 33, the same as the age of Jesus when he died.