St. Catherine of Siena

I cannot disagree more strongly with the reviewer who called this a romantic treatment of St. Catherine. It is a moving and inspiring treatment of the life of one of the greatest saints the world has ever known, but it is not at all sentimental. Alice Curtayne is a beautiful writer, and her sense of irony serves her well, as this is a respectful biography, but not without the occasional arch comment regarding the people Catherine had to deal with as she fasted and prayed her way through the politics of 14th century schismatic Catholicism. You will end this book wanting to know more -- I have since finished one version of Catherine's Dialogue, am now one-third of the way through another, and will ask my family to give me both volumes of her letters for Christmas.

St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) ranks as one of the greatest, most interesting, most influential and most popular saints in all of Church history. She was a twin, the 23rd of 25 children, a mystic, a stigmatic and a miracle-worker. Her penances were so great that she eventually ate no food - except Holy Communion - and did not require sleep. Through her personal influence, thousands of people returned to the Faith. Her crowning achievement consisted of persuading Pope Gregory XI to return to the Papacy in Rome, thus ending the "Babylonian Captivity." During much of Catherine's brief life she labored valiantly to end the "Great Western Schism" (two Popes), to reconcile the warring states of Italy, and to have the Church preach a crusade against the Turks. St. Catherine died at age 33, the victim of her own strenuous efforts and penances on behalf of the Church. Her 400 letters - to Popes and to religious and political leaders of high and low estate - testify to these efforts. Toward the end of her life, while in ecstasy, she dictated her famous Dialogue with God the Father, which has become one of the great spiritual treasures of the Church. For this writing and for her letters, Pope Paul VI declared her a Doctor of the Church. St. Catherine of Siena is so appealing because she literally consumed herself for the sake of souls and for the welfare of Christ's Church. 268 pages, Imprimatur.