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| Distance view of the high altar of Santa Maria sopra Minerva Rome, Piazza della Minerva |
In Rome the Dominican church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva is distinguished by its unusual, Gothic style and by the fact that one of the most important saints of Europe is entombed under the main altar.
This body is not the remains of a great Pope, an Emperor or another politically important person. Probably surprising to some is the fact that it is the body of a young woman who in her brief life did an extraordinary number of astonishing things; things that would be remarkable for a woman in our own day and are truly astonishing when one thinks of the common image of women in the middle ages.
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It is the tomb of Saint Catherine of Siena, who died at the age of 32 in 1380. |
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| Tomb of St. Catherine of Siena High Altar of Santa Maria sopra Minerva |
The typical image of the medieval woman is that of a
subordinated, repressed individual, almost held as a chattel or slave, first to
her father and then to her husband. Yet,
this era abounds with a large number of women with a wide range of experience
and accomplishment. A brief list
includes: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Empress
Matilda, Joan of Arc, Hildegard of Bingen, Christine de Pisan, Marguerite of
Anjou. But the achievements of Catherine
of Siena surpass all of them in scale and continuing relevance.
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| Fray Juan Battista de Maino, St. Catherine of Siena Spanish, 1612-1614 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa was born into a very large
middle class artisan family in Siena on September 25, 1347. She died in Rome on April 29, 1380. Between these two dates she lived an amazing
life.1 From her early childhood she was
devout and very early on experienced visions.
When she was only seven years old, she vowed her virginity to
Christ. At around age 12 her parents
decided to arrange a marriage for her, as was the custom at the time. Catherine refused to go along with their
plans and began the series of extreme austerities that she followed for the
rest of her life. Her obstinacy
convinced her parents to allow her to live as she chose and she began to live
the life of an anchoress, withdrawn from the world and living a life of prayer
and sacrifice, while still in the family home.
At age 19-20 she became a member of the Dominican Third Order, living a
form of lay religious life which allows people to continue living their
ordinary lives in society under a form of religious rule which incorporates
them into the life of the religious order to which they belong.
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| Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, St. Catherine of Siena Italian, 1746 Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum |
They are designated as a “Third” portion of a religious family in which the vowed religious men (friars in the case of the Dominicans and Franciscans) form the “First” and the vowed religious women (nuns) form the “Second” portions. Some Third Orders are further divided into “Regular” and “Secular” branches, with the regular members living together in a community, while the secular members live ordinary lives In the world. All are, however, members of the Order and all have the right to wear certain parts of the Order’s religious garb or habit. Therefore, St. Catherine of Siena is generally shown wearing the black and white habit of the Dominican Third Order female members.
Following her reception into the Dominican Third Order for
women (called the Mantellate in Siena) Catherine began to lead a life of active
ministry in her home town and beyond. Her
reputation for holiness and wisdom in counseling brought her to the attention
of many outside Siena. She began to be
sought out as a counselor by many in high places in both the secular and
religious worlds. And a wise counselor
was someone greatly needed at the time.
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| Follower of the Moerdrecht Master, St. Catherine of Siena From Book of Hours Dutch (Utrecht), 1440-1450 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 133 E 15, folio 226v |
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| Carlo Crivelli, St. Catherine of Siena Italian, c. 1490 Avignon, Musée du Petit Palais |
The fourteenth century opened with a series
of famine years in northern Europe that are sometimes described as the “years
without a summer”.
It also saw the onset
of the Black Death, which resulted in the deaths of at least half the
population of Europe and which arrived in Western Europe just a few weeks after
the birth of St. Catherine.
Politically,
there was constant friction between the rapidly differentiating European states
(such as the Hundred Years War between England and France, which began at this
time), internal strife within these countries (such as the Jacquerie in France
and the Peasants’ Revolt in England) and constant strife within the Italian
peninsula between the many city-states, the Papacy, the French monarchy and the
Holy Roman Empire.
And within the church
there was also great unease, with many serious abuses becoming common and a
papacy that resided not in Rome but in Avignon, in southern France, under the
thumb of the French monarchy.
The last Crusade of the middle ages came to a
dreadful end at Nicopolis in 1396.2
In this troubled atmosphere Catherine tried hard to bring about peace in Italy. But her best known accomplishment is surely her successful effort to persuade Pope Gregory XI to leave Avignon and to return to Rome, which he did in 1377. In the confused and contested election which followed his death in 1378, which led to the Great Western Schism, she supported the Italian candidate, Urban VI.
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| Matteo da Milano, St. Catherine of Siena From Hours of Bonaparte Ghislieri Italy (Bologna), c. 1500 London, British Library MS Yates Thompson 29, folio 36r |
Her advice on spiritual matters was sought by a wide range of people and survives in her written works, The Dialogue, her Letters and a series of Prayers.
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| Giovanni di Paolo, Saint Catherine of Siena Dictating Her Dialogues Italian, c. 1460 Detroit, Institute of Art |
During her life St. Catherine had a series of visions
through which she understood her relationship to Christ. These events form the primary iconography of
St. Catherine of Siena. A series of them was painted around the time of her canonization by the Siennese painter, Giovanni di Paolo. These charming paintings were placed as a predella along the bottom of a major Sienese altarpiece and became among the earliest images that set the iconography of St. Catherine. Consequently, I will show them below as the first image of each section of her iconography.
Among them are:
Her Mystic Marriage
to Christ (not to be confused with a similar image of St. Catherine of
Alexandria, which may have developed from the iconography of the Siennese
saint).
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| Lorenzo d'Alessandro da Sanseverino, Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine Italian, c.1481-1500 London, National Gallery |
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| Correggio, Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena Italian, 1510-1515 Washington, National Gallery of Art |
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| Fra Bartolomeo, Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena Italian, 1511 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Clemente de Torres, Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena Spanish, c. 1650 Private Collection |
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| Hendrik Heerschop, Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena Dutch, 1660 Utrecht, Museum Catharijneconvent |
The exchange of Christ’s heart for her heart
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| Giovanni di Paolo, St. Catherine of Siena Exchanging Her Heart with Christ Italian, c. 1460 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Her vision of St. Dominic investing her with the habit of
the Dominican Third Order
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| Giovanni di Paolo, St. Catherine of Siena Invested with the Dominican Habit Italian, c. 1460 Cleveland, Museum of Art In her vision, Catherine was offered the habits of three religious orders: Dominican, Augustinian and Franciscan, by the founder saints of those groups. She chose the order of St. Dominic. |
Her generosity in giving her cloak to a beggar who turns out to be Christ Himself when He returns it to her
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| Pietro di Francesco degli Orioli, St. Catherine and the Beggar Italian, c. 1490 Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale
This picture shows how influential the works of Giovanni di Paolo were in establishing St. Catherine's iconography
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Her reception of Holy Communion from Christ Himself or from an angel
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|
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| Domenico Beccafumi, Miraculous Communion of St. Catherine Italian, c. 1513-1515 Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum |
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| Francesco Brizzi, Miraculous Communion of St. Catherine Italian, ca. 1600 Bologna, Church of San Domenico, Chapel of St. Catherine |
Her reception of the Stigmata (the marks of the Crucifixion of
Christ)
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| Giovanni Di Paolo, St. Catherine of Siena Receiving the Stigmata Italian, c.1460 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lehman Collection |
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| Giovanni di Bartolo Matteo, St. Catharine Receiving the Stigmata Italian, c.1460-1495 Paris, Musée du Petit Palais |
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| Domenico Beccafumi, St. Catherine of Siena Receiving the Stigmata Italian, 1513-1515 Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum |
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| Giacomo Pacchiarotti, St. Catherine of Siena Receiving the Stigmata Italian, 1520-1530 Siena, Church of Santa Caterina in Fontebranda |
Other events from her life were also frequently depicted as
part of her iconography. These included
her
- Intercessory prayers for her own family and for others,
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|
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| Master of San Miniato, St. Catherine of Siena Intercedes for Her Deceased Sister, Palmerina Italian, c. 1570 La Spezia, Museo Amedeo Lia |
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| Girolamo di Benvenuto, St. Catherine of Siena Interceding for a Possessed Woman Italian, c.1500 Denver, Art Museum |
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Il Sodoma, St. Catherine Interceding for the Condemned at the Beheading of Niccolo di Tuldo
Italian, 1526
Siena, Church of San Domenico
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Miracles attributed to her
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Vincenzo di Tamagni, St. Catherine Heals Matteo Cenni of the Plague
Italian, 1520-1530
Siena, Church of Santa Caterina in Fontebranda, Chapel of St. Catherine
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Giovanni di Paolo, St. Catherine Before the Pope at Avignon
Italian, c. 1460s
Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
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| Giorgio Vasari, Idealized Return of Pope Gregory XI to Rome Italian, c. 1570 Vatican City, Apostolic Palace St. Catherine appears just to the left of the Pope's Sedia gestatoria urging him to continue on to his Roman residence. |
She is also frequently shown in prayer alone and sometimes
in ecstasy.
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| Anonymous Siennese Painter, Saint Catherine of Siena with a Crucifix and a Crown of Thorns Italian, 17th century Philadelphia, Museum of Art |
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| Melchiore Caffa, Ecstasy of St. Catherome of Siena Italian, 1667 Rome, Church of S. Catarina da Siena a Magnapoli |
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| Rutilio Manetti, St. Catherine of Siena Italian, 1628-1632 Private Collection |
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| Pompeo Batoni, Ecstasy of St. Catherine of Siena Italian, 1743 Lucca, Museo di Villa Guinigi |
Her specific iconographic attributes are related to her life.
She is shown with the lily of purity, the stigmata and crown of thorns, the
cross, sometimes holding a heart as well as with a book or books.
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| Giovanni di Paolo, St. Catherine of Siena Italian, c. 1460 Cambridge, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum |
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| Sano di Pietro, St. Catherine of Siena Italian, c. 1460-1465 Maastricht, Bonnefantenmuseum |
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| Workshop of Guillaume Vrelant , St. Catherine of Siena From a Book of Hours, Flemish, 1461-1499 New York, NYPL, Spencer Collection, MS NYPL Spencer 46, fol. 42 |
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| Domenico Ghirlandaio, Saints Catherine and Lawrence Italian, 1490-1498 Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakotek |
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| St. Catherine of Siena From a Book Printed in Venice byAldus Manutius Italian, c. 1500 New York, Columbia University, Rare Book Department; Manuscript Library Incunable C-281, p. 422 |
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| Anthony van Dyck, Christ On the Cross With St.. Catherine of Siena, St. Dominic and an Angel Flemish, Before 1629 Antwerp, Koninklijk Museen voor Schone Kunste |
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| Abraham van Diepenbeeck, Christ on the Cross Adored by Eight Saints of the Dominican Order Model for an Engraving Flemish, 1652 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
Sometimes she is shown treading on a demon or demons (as in the Bourdichon illustration below), representing her
victorious battle with various temptations that tormented her in her early years.
Her role as a patron saint appears often as
well.
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| Jean Bourdichon, St. Catherine of Siena From Hours of Frederic d'Aragon French (Tours), 1501-1504 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 10532, fol. 368 |
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| Anonymous Lombard Painter, Madonna and Child with St. Catherine of Siena and a Carthusian Donor Italian, c.1460 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lehman Collection |
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| Gaudenzio Ferrari, Donors with Saints Catherine of Siena and Niicholas Italian, 1533 Vercelli, Church of San Cristoforo |
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| Il Sodoma, Madonna and Child with Saints Peter and Catherine of Siena and a Carthusian Donor Italian, 1540s London, National Gallery |
Catherine died at Rome in 1380, worn out by her relentless
austerities and travels. Her body was
buried in the Dominican church at the center of Rome, Santa Maria sopra
Minerva, although her head was taken to Siena and is enshrined in the church of
Santa Caterina in Fontebranda.
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| Giovanni di Paolo, Death of St. Catherine of Siena Italian, c. 1460 Private Collection |
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| Vincenzo Tamagni, Deathbed of St. Catherine of Siena Italian, c. 1520-1530 Siena, Church of Santa Caterina in Fontebranda, Chapel of St. Catherine |
She was
canonized in 1461. She has remained a
major saint, growing in importance as the centuries have passed. Pope Pius IX named her a Patroness of Rome in
1866, while in 1939 Pope Pius XII named her a Patroness of Italy.
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| Francesco Vanni, Canonization of St. Catherine of Siena Italian, c.1600 Siena, Oratorio della Cucina |
In 1970 Pope Paul VI added her to
the distinguished company of the saints who bear the title Doctor of the Church
and in 1999 St. John Paul II named her as one of the Patrons of Europe.
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| Michele de Meo, St. Catherine of Siena, Patron of Europe Italian, 2003 Rome, Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Chapel of St. James |
In the modern day she is sometimes seen as a kind of proto-feminist, a feisty woman who refused to accept the limitations on women of her day and who used emotional blackmail through her fasts to get her own way. But those who see her this way are blinded by their own modern prejudices, I think. Just because some things seem on the surface to be similar does not necessarily mean that they are.
Catherine saw her world through a Christ-centered view and love of Him was her motivation, not a love/hate fixation on self or a desire to have her own way.3 What she did, she did for love of Him and of His church and not for herself. That is why she continues to have influence in our world today.
© M. Duffy, 2016. Selected images updated 2024.
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1. For details and an
appreciation of her life see the following:
Butler, Alban, Rev. The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints, Volume
IV. Dublin: James Duffy, 1866; Bartleby.com, 2010. www.bartleby.com/210/.
Benedict XVI, Audience, November 24, 2010 at http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20101124.html
2. For fourteenth century history see: Barbara W. Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1978.
3. For an interesting
discussion of the issue of Catherine’s “proto-feminism” see: Katherine Mahon, “The
Complex Catherine Of Siena and the Sin of Simplifying Saints”, in (DT) Daily
Theology, April 29, 2015 at https://dailytheology.org/2015/04/29/the-complex-catherine-of-siena-and-the-scandal-of-simplifying-saints/
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