April is quickly coming to a close, and AP exams begin Monday, so I've decided to get this month's saint taken care of. Originally, I was going to talk about St. Terese of Lisieux, but while watching the royal wedding, it was revealed to me that today is St. Catherine of Siena's feast day. And, since we share the same name (although with a variation in the spelling), Catherine it is!
Catherine was born in Siena, Italy in 1934 along with her twin sister, who died not too long after her birth. When she was around five, she saw Jesus Himself, and said He had smiled and blessed her.
When she was sixteen, her older sister died in childbirth, and her parents wanted Catherine to marry her widower. Having made a vow to remain chaste at the age of seven, Catherine had no desire to do so. To protest her parents wishes, she fasted until her parents gave in.
With visions of St. Dominic, Catherine decided to join the Dominican order, where she led a life of unselfish giving, "married" to Christ. Her ministry sent her to Rome, after she convinced Pope Gregory XI to return to the same place. After his death, she spent her time convincing nobles and cardinals of the legitimacy of the papacy of Pope Urban VI.
After extreme fasting (she recieved only the Body of Christ and was unable to keep any earthly food down), she died at the age of 33 in Rome. She was buried at first, but after reports of miracles occuring at her grave, her incorruptible body was moved and placed inside Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Her head, however, rests in Sienna.
Pious II canonized her in 1461, and Pious XII named her Patron Saint of Italy (in addition to St. Francis of Assisi). Paul VI named her a Doctor of the Church in 1970, and John Paul II made her a patron saint of Europe. She also is the patroness of Theta Phi Alpha, the American Catholic sorority.
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