Catherine of Siena
Catherine Benincasa (1347-1380), the daughter of a dyer, became a Dominican tertiary at 16. She gained reknown in her native Siena for her visions and gathered a spiritual family called Caternati whom she advised. In 1376, she went to Avignon to plead with Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome, to make peace with Florence, and to crusade against the Muslims in the Holy Land. She achieved her first objective. When the Western Schism began in 1378, she worked to heal it and supported Urban VI until his death in 1379. She was canonized in 1461 by Pope Pius II.
Her most famous work is Dialogo, published c. 1375, which reflects her visions and mystical experiences. Several of her letters are extant.
Karen Rae Keck
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