St.catherine Of Siena
by Ed Weidman
Title
St.catherine Of Siena
Artist
Ed Weidman
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
Saint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D. (25 March 1347 in Siena � 29 April 1380 in Rome), was a tertiary of the Dominican Order and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. Since 18 June 1939, she is one of the two patron saints of Italy, together with St. Francis of Assisi.[1] On 3 October 1970, she was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI,[2] and, on 1 October 1999, Pope John Paul II named her as one of the six patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia, Saints Cyril and Methodius, Bridget of Sweden and Edith Stein.
Three genres of work by Catherine survive:
Her major treatise is The Dialogue of Divine Providence. This was probably begun in October 1377, and was certainly finished by November 1378. Contemporaries of Catherine are united in asserting that much of the book was dictated while Catherine was in ecstasy, though it also seems possible that Catherine herself may then have re-edited many passages in the book.It is a dialogue between a soul who "rises up" to God and God himself.
Catherine's letters are considered one of the great works of early Tuscan literature. Many of these were dictated, although she herself learned to write in 1377; more than 300 have survived. In her letters to the Pope, she often referred to him affectionately simply as Papa ("Pope"), instead of the formal form of address as "Holiness". Other correspondents include her various confessors, among them Raymond of Capua, the kings of France and Hungary, the infamous mercenary John Hawkwood, the Queen of Naples, members of the Visconti family of Milan, and numerous religious figures. Approximately one third of her letters are to women.
26 prayers of Catherine of Siena also survive, mostly composed in the last eighteen months of her life.
She was buried in the (Roman) cemetery of Santa Maria sopra Minerva which lies near the Pantheon. After miracles were reported to take place at her grave, Raymond moved her inside the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, where she lies to this day.
The Chapel of Saint Catherine, Basilica of San Domenico in Siena
Her head however, was parted from her body and inserted in a gilt bust of bronze. This bust was later taken to Siena, and carried through that city in a procession to the Dominican church. Behind the bust walked Lapa, Catherine's mother, who lived until she was 89 years old. By then she had seen the end of the wealth and the happiness of her family, and followed most of her children and several of her grandchildren to the grave. She helped Raymond of Capua write his biography of her daughter, and said, "I think God has laid my soul athwart in my body, so that it can't get out." The incorruptible head and thumb were entombed in the Basilica of San Domenico at Siena, where they remain.
Pope Pius II, himself from Siena, canonized St Catherine on 29 June 1461.
On 3 October 1970, Pope Paul VI gave Catherine the title of Doctor of the Church;[2] this title was almost simultaneously given to Saint Teresa of �vila (27 September 1970), making them the first women to receive this honour.
Initially however, her feast day was not included in the General Roman Calendar. When it was added in 1597, it was put on the day of her death, April 29; however, because this conflicted with the feast of Saint Peter of Verona which also fell on the 29th of April, Catherine's feast day was moved in 1628 to the new date of April 30. In the 1969 revision of the calendar, it was decided to leave the celebration of the feast of St Peter of Verona to local calendars, because he was not as well known worldwide, and Saint Catherine's feast was restored to its traditional date of April 29.
In his decree of 13 April 1866, Pope Pius IX declared Catherine of Siena to be a co-patroness of Rome. On 18 June 1939 Pope Pius XII named her a joint Patron Saint of Italy along with Saint Francis of Assisi.
On 1 October 1999, Pope John Paul II made her one of Europe's patron saints, along with Edith Stein and Bridget of Sweden. She is also the patroness of the historically Catholic American woman's fraternity, Theta Phi Alpha.
The people of Siena wished to have St. Catherine's body. A story is told of a miracle whereby they were partially successful: knowing that they could not smuggle her whole body out of Rome, they decided to take only her head which they placed in a bag. When stopped by the Roman guards, they prayed to St Catherine to help them, confident that she would rather have her body (or at least part thereof) in Siena. When they opened the bag to show the guards, it appeared no longer to hold her head but to be full of rose petals. Once back at Siena, as they reopened the bag her head was visible once more. Due to this story, St Catherine is often seen holding a rose
Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church. She remains a greatly respected figure for her spiritual writings, and political boldness to "speak truth to power"� it being exceptional for a woman, in her time period, to have had such influence in politics and on world history.
The St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center is located in Smithtown, Long Island, New York. Only the church and a memorial garden survive of St Catherine's Convent in Bow, London, whose members moved to Stone, Staffordshire in 1926.
Uploaded
July 11th, 2015
Statistics
Viewed 109 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/20/2024 at 8:22 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Comments
There are no comments for St.catherine Of Siena. Click here to post the first comment.