Saint of the Day: Catherine of Siena

Doctor of the Church
Feast day: April 29

Patron of:  Fire prevention
b.1347 - d.1380

The 25th child of a wool dyer in northern Italy, St. Catherine started having mystical experiences when she was only 6, seeing guardian angels as clearly as the people they protected. She became a Dominican tertiary when she was 16, and continued to have visions of Christ, Mary, and the saints. St. Catherine was one of the most brilliant theological minds of her day, although she never had any formal education. She persuaded the Pope to go back to Rome from Avignon, in 1377, and when she died she was endeavoring to heal the Great Western Schism. In 1375 Our Lord gave her the Stigmata, which was visible only after her death. Her spiritual director was Blessed Raymond of Capua. St, Catherine's letters, and a treatise called "a dialogue" are considered among the most brilliant writings in the history of the Catholic Church. She died when she was only 33, and her body was found incorrupt in 1430.   -- from   http://www.catholic.org/

"Lord, take me from myself and give me to yourself." - St Catherine of Siena

Interesting tidbits: 

At 16, Catherine Benincasa took the habit of the Dominican Tertiaries and secluded herself in a small room in her father's house for three years, where she experienced many visions.

Catherine wrote over 400 letters to church authorities and the ruling heads of Europe.  She became a trusted advisor and consultant in many political matters.  She is best known for convincing Pope Gregory IX to return to Rome from Avignon.  Catherine is sometimes called "the mystic of politics." 

Catherine died in Rome, but the people of Siena wanted her to be in her hometown.  There is a story about a group of people who smuggled her head out of Rome in a paper bag.  When guards insisted on looking inside,  they only saw a bag full of rose petals.  The head re-materialized in Siena, and was placed in an elaborate reliquary in St. Dominic's Basilica, where it remains today.      

SieNa is the city.  SieNNa is the color named after the iron-rich earth in that part of the country.