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Catherine was the 25th child of a wool dyer in northern Italy. Intensely devout, even as a young child, she started having mystical experiences when she was only 6.
When Catherine was a teenager, her mother was overly concerned with Catherine's looks in order to win the girl a husband. In protest, the young Catherine cut off her hair. Her father, however, respected Catherine's spiritual nature and gave her a room of her own for prayer and meditation.
She became a Dominican tertiary when she was 16, spending the next three years in seclusion, prayer, and austerity. During this time, Catherine continued to have visions of Christ, Mary, and the saints.
Word spread of her visions and devotion, and soon a group of followers gathered around her -- men and women, even priests.
Her letters, mostly for spiritual instruction and encouragement of her followers, gradually became more political. She saw how games of power added to the suffering in the world and increasingly fragmented the Catholic Church. Saints, then as now, were expected to remain aloof from worldly affairs and to not meddle in politics. Because of Catherine's outspoken political views she was accused of unorthodoxy, though she was eventually cleared of all charges.
Although she never had much formal education, Catherine became one of the most respected theologians of her day, as well as a powerful political force.
Catherine's letters, and her "Dialog" are considered among the most brilliant writings in the Catholic Church.
In 1378, the Great Schism began, splitting the Catholic Church between two, then three, popes. Catherine died while attempting to reconcile the various factions and bring the pope from Avignon back to Rome.
Five years before her death, Catherine received the Stigmata.
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