Saint Catherine of Genoa
Widow, Mystic
(1447 – 1510)

Saint’s Life Story

Her Early Life

Caterina (Catherine) Fieschi was born to an aristocratic family in 1447 in the great seaport Genoa, Italy. She was the youngest of five children. Her parents were Jacopo and Francesca, both of illustrious Italian families. Two popes — Innocent IV and Adrian V — came from the Fieschi family tree. Jacopo became Viceroy of Naples.

Her mother provided such an effective Christian education that the elder of her two daughters, Limbania, became an Augustinian nun. When she was thirteen, Catherine tried to enter an Augustinian convent. However, she was refused due to her age.

Married at 16

Her father, Giacomo Fieschi, died when she was very young. Her elder brother sought to promote the family fortunes by having Catherine marry young Guiliano Adorno, who was from another Genoese noble family. So, submitting to the wishes of her family, Catherine married Guiliano in 1463 at the age of age of sixteen.

Bad Marriage

Her marriage was terrible. Guiliano was a faithless, violent-tempered, and selfish husband, who made life miserable for Catherine by his infidelity, financial irresponsibility gambling, and was also greatly influenced by St. Catherinenever bing. For the first 5 years of her marriage, Catherine spent in silent melancholy submission to her husband withdrawing from the social life of the city. Then, for the next 5 years, Catherine tried to adjust to fit into the fashionable upper-class life of her husband’s world as an affluent wife in the Genoese society life. However, in the end, her efforts to make Guiliano happy, only led Catherine to more unhappiness, frustration and dissatisfaction.

Conversion

One day, taking her sister’s advice, Catherine went to Confession. After 10 years of marriage, Catherine was converted by a mystical experience during this confession on March 22, 1473. Her experience is described as an overpowering sense of God’s love for her combined with the knowledge of the empty life she was leading and becoming aware of her sins. After this revelation occurred, Catherine abruptly left the church without finishing her confession. This marked the beginning of her life of close union with God through prayer without using forms of prayer such as the rosary. She began to receive Communion almost daily, a practice extremely rare for lay people in the Middle Ages. Convinced of her appalling sinfulness, Catherine practiced many severe penances.

Out to City Streets

On this journey Catherine became ever closer to the Lord until she attained what is called “unitive life”, namely, a relationship of profound union with God. During this same time, Catherine began to go out in the Genoese city streets to serve the poor there. In addition, she would go to the sick in a hospital at Genoa. Meanwhile, Guiliano, had also undergone a conversion. Later, he would become a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis. However, Catherine joined no religious order.

Pammatone Hospital Work

Now, reconciled Catherine and Guiliano agreed to a celibate marriage. Since Guiliano was now financially bankrupt, they moved to a small house near the Pammatone Hospital, the largest hospital complex in Genoa. Here, they devoted themselves to works of charity taking care of the patients there. In 1490, Catherine was appointed Director at the hospital, a post she held until 1496. During the disastrous plague of 1493, where 4 out of every 5 Genoese citizens died, Catherine was in charge of the hospital. Later that year in 1493, her husband Guiliano died.

Spiritual Gifted

From 1476 to 1499, Catherine fasted completely during Advent and Lent. In the late 1470s, Catherine received many spiritual ecstasies in which she received many of the insights that she later revealed to her associates in her teachings.  These teachings were later written down by her admirers and transmitted in two well known works, the Treatise on Purgatory, and the Dialogues on the Soul and the Body, which tells the story of her battle to replace self-love with Christ’s love. Her keen awareness of her sinfulness comes out strongly in her writings as shown in the next quote. “Without the help of God, I should never do any good thing. So sure am I of this, that if all the angels of heaven were to tell me I have something good in me, I should not believe them” (Life and Doctrine 22).

His Death

After several years of declining health, Catherine died on September 15, 1510 in Genoa, Italy. She was buried in the Pammatone Hospital Chapel, where she had served so selflessly. Eighteen months later, Catherine’s body was found incorrupt later when repairs to the building were done. Her body was later transferred to the Capuchin Convent Annunziata di Portoria, near the center of Genoa and can be viewed by the public, in the Church attached to the Convent.

The chain-effect of Catherine’s holiness is evident in the life of the Church, through her writings and the influence she had on future saints and reformers. Saint Francis de Sales‘ writings echo Catherine’s writings on the love of God. Her writings also inspired theologian Saint Robert Bellarmine.

Born:                   1447 in Genoa, Italy

Died:                   September 15, 1510 in Genoa, Italy

Beatified:           April 6, 1675 by Pope Clement X

Canonized:        June 16, 1737 by Pope Clement XII

Feast Day:         September 15

Patron Saint:    Against Adultery; Bride; Childless People; Difficult Marriages; Genoa, Italy; Italian Hospitals; People Ridiculed For Their Piety; Sick People of Italy; Victims of Adultery; Widows

Source:

• • Saint of the Day – 15 September – St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) – AnaStpaul
  • St. Catherine of Genoa – Catholic Fire
  • CatholicSaints.Info » Saint Catherine of Genoa
  • Fire of Love – Sophia Institute Press
  • Catherine of Genoa – Wikipedia

Prayers

Video Link

Cradio Saint of the Day: Saint Catherine of Genoa – YouTube (CatholicSaints.Info)