Catherine of Palma (1531–1574, born Catalina Thomás) was a Spanish nun canonised in 1930. She was born 1 May 1531 at

Valldemossa Valldemossa is a village and municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is famous for one landmark: the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, built at the beginning of the 14th cent ...

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

, Spain, in a peasant family. She worked as a servant in a household in Palma where she learned to read and embroider, before joining the Canonesses of St Augustine at the convent of St Mary Magdalene in Palma. According to legend, she was visited by devils and angels, and went into ecstasy for the last years of her life. She died 5 April 1574 at

Palma Palma or La Palma means palm in a number of languages and may also refer to: Geography Africa *Palma, Mozambique, city ** Palma District *La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, Spain **La Palma (DO), a ''Denominación de Origen'' for wines from the ...

, Mallorca, of natural causes. her hat, thimble, and other relics were kept, and her body preserved in a marble sarcophagus, in the convent of St Mary Magdalene, Palma. After her death she was celebrated locally as a saint for half a century until a decree of

Pope Urban VII Pope Urban VII ( la, Urbanus VII; it, Urbano VII; 4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was head of the Catholic Church, and ruler of the Papal States from 15 to 27 September 1590. His thirteen-day papacy was th ...

forbade the worship of unrecognised saints. Local people appealed to Rome and eventually she was beatified on 12 August 1792 by

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

and canonised on 22 June 1930 by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

. The house in Valldemossa where she was born, Carrer Rectoria 5, has become a shrine, and many houses in the village bear a plaque in her honour. She is considered the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Mallorca, although other sources apply this title to

Sebastian Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

Alphonsus Rodriguez Alphonsus Rodríguez, SJ ( es, Alfonso) (25 July 1532 – 31 October 1617) was a Spanish Jesuit who served as a religious brother and is now venerated as a saint. He was a native of Segovia. Though his life was punctuated with personal tra ...

or the Virgen de Lluc of the

Santuari de Lluc The Santuari de Lluc is a monastery and pilgrimage site located in the municipality of Escorca in north-west Majorca. It is located in a basin on a height of 525 metres and is surrounded by a number of high mountains such as the Puig de Mass ...

She is commemorated on 1 April, and on 27 and 28 July in her home town of Valldemossa. Spellings of her names found in sources include Catalina, Caterina, Cathalina and Catherine, and Thomas, Thomás, Tomas, Tomàs Gallard, and Tomàs i Gallard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine of Palma 1533 births 1574 deaths 16th-century Spanish nuns Christian female saints of the Early Modern era Spanish Roman Catholic saints People from Valldemosa Beatifications by Pope Pius VI Venerated Catholics