The youngest child of a very large family, St. Catherine of Siena was born on March 25, 1347. She began to have visions from an early age. At the age of 16, she joined the Dominican Tertiaries. Throughout her life, she ministered to the poor and afflicted.
She spent much of her life trying to bring peace to the Church and, in 1376, she convinced Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome from Avignon.
Her writings are considered to be among the most brilliant in the Church and Pope Paul VI named her a Doctor of the Church in 1970.
She died in Rome in 1380 and was canonized by Pope Pius II in 1461.
For a more complete biographical history of St. Catherine herself, please click here.