Catherine of Genoa (Caterina Fieschi Adorno, 1447 – 15 September 1510) was an Italian Roman Catholic saint and mystic, admired for her work among the sick and the poorEncyclopædia Britannica Online: ''Saint Catherine of Genoa''
/ref> and remembered because of various writings describing both these actions and her mystical experiences. She was a member of the noble Fieschi family,Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ), article ''Catherine, St, of Genoa'' and spent most of her life and her means serving the sick, especially during the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

which ravaged Genoa in 1497 and 1501. She died in that city in 1510. Her fame outside her native city is connected with the publication in 1551 of the book known in English as the ''Life and Doctrine of Saint Catherine of Genoa''. She and her teaching were the subject of Baron Friedrich von Hügel's classic work ''The Mystical Element of Religion'' (1908).

Early life

Catherine was born in Genoa in 1447, the last of five children.Pope Benedict XVI. "On Catherine of Genoa", General Audience January 12, 2011
/ref> Catherine's parents were Jacopo Fieschi and Francesca di Negro, both of illustrious Italian birth. The family was connected to two previous popes, and Jacopo became Viceroy of Naples.Capes, Florence. " St. Catherine of Genoa." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 5 April 2021. Catherine wished to enter a convent when about 13, perhaps inspired by her sister who was an Augustinian nun. However, the nuns to whom her confessor applied on her behalf refused her on account of her youth. After this Catherine appears to have put the idea aside without any further attempt. After her father's death in 1463, aged 16, she was married by her parents' wish to a young Genoese nobleman, Giuliano Adorno, a man who, after several experiences in the area of trade and in the military world in the Middle East, had returned to Genoa to get married. Their marriage was probably a ploy to end the feud between their two families. The marriage turned out wretchedly: it was childless and Giuliano proved to be faithless, violent-tempered and a spendthrift, and he made his wife's life a misery. Details are scant, but it seems at least clear that Catherine spent the first five years of her marriage in silent, melancholy submission to her husband; and that she then, for another five years, turned a little to the world for consolation in her troubles. Then, after ten years of marriage, desperate for an escape, she prayed for three months that God would keep her sick in bed, but her prayer went unanswered.

Conversion

After ten years of marriage, she was converted by a mystical experience during confession on 22 March 1473; her conversion is described as an overpowering sense of God's love for her. After this revelation occurred, she abruptly left the church, without finishing her confession. This marked the beginning of her life of close union with God in prayer, without using forms of prayer such as the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

. She began to receive Communion almost daily, a practice extremely rare for lay people in the Middle Ages, and she underwent remarkable mental and at times almost pathological experiences, the subject of Friedrich von Hügel's study ''The Mystical Element of Religion''. She combined this with unselfish service to the sick in a hospital at Genoa, in which her husband joined her after he, too, had been converted. He later became a Franciscan tertiary, but she joined no

religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...

. Her husband's spending had ruined them financially. He and Catherine decided to live in the Pammatone, a large hospital in Genoa, and to dedicate themselves to works of charity there.Foley O.F.M., Leonard. ''Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons and Feast'', (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Franciscan Media
She eventually became manager and treasurer of the hospital. She died on 15 September 1510, worn out with labours of body and soul. Her death had been slow with many days of pain and suffering as she experienced visions and wavered between life and death.

Spiritual teaching

For about 25 years, Catherine, though frequently going to confession, was unable to open her mind for direction to anyone; but towards the end of her life a Father Marabotti was appointed to be her spiritual guide. He had been a director of the hospital where her husband died in 1497. To him she explained her states, past and present, and he compiled the ''Memoirs''. During this period, her life was devoted to her relationship with God, through "interior inspiration" alone. In 1551, 41 years after her death, a book about her life and teaching was published, entitled ''Libro de la vita mirabile et dottrina santa de la Beata Caterinetta de Genoa'' ("Book of the marvellous life and holy teaching of the Blessed Catherine of Genoa"). This is the source of her "Dialogues on the Soul and the Body" and her "Treatise on Purgatory", which are often printed separately. Her authorship of these has been denied, and it used to be thought that another mystic, the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

canoness regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

Battistina Vernazza Battistina Vernazza (secular name Tommasina Vernazza) (born at Genoa, 1497; died there, 1587) was an Italian canoness regular and mystical writer. Life Her father, Ettore Vernazza, was a patrician, founder of several hospitals for the sick poor ...

, a nun who lived in a monastery in Genoa from 1510 till her death in 1587, had edited the two works. This suggestion is now discredited by recent scholarship, which attributes a large part of both works to Catherine, even though they received their final literary form only after her death. Catherine's thought on purgatory, for which she is particularly known, and her way of describing it, is original in some features for the period.

Beatification and canonization

Catherine's writings were examined by the Holy Office and declared to contain doctrine that would alone be enough to prove her sanctity, and she was accordingly

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

in 1675 by Pope Clement X, and canonized in 1737 by

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...

. Her writings also became sources of inspiration for other religious leaders such as Robert Bellarmine and Francis de Sales and Cardinal Henry Edward Manning. Catherine of Genoa's liturgical feast is celebrated in local calendars on 15 September.

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

declared her patroness of the hospitals in Italy. In 2022, Catherine was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 15 September.

Notes

References

Modern editions

* Umile Bonzi, ''S. Caterina Fieschi Adorno'', vol 1 ''Teologia mistica di S. Caterina da Genova'', vol 2,''Edizione critica dei manoscritti Cateriniani'', (Genoa: Marietti, 1960, 1962). odern edition in Italian* Carpaneto da Langasco, ''Sommersa nella fontana dell'amore: Santa Caterina Fiescho Adorno'', vol 1, ''La Vita'', vol 2, ''Le opere'', (Genoa: Marietti, 1987, 1990) odern edition in Italian* Catherine of Genoa, ''Purgation and purgatory; The spiritual dialogue'', translated by Serge Hughes, Classics of Western Spirituality, (New York: Paulist Press, 1979) * Catherine of Genoa, ''Treatise on purgatory; The dialogue'', translated by Charlotte Balfour and Helen Douglas Irvine, (London: Sheed & Ward, 1946) * Thomas Coswell Upham, ''Life of Madam Catharina Adorno'', (New York: Harper, 1858) * Mrs G Ripley, ''Life and Doctrine of Saint Catherine of Genoa'', (New York: Christian Press Association, 1896). his is the most recent English translation of the ''Life'' of Catherine – but is, like the 1858 translation, made from the inferior A manuscript.

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica Online: article ''Saint Catherine of Genoa''
*
Catherine Adorni
at the Brooklyn Museum Dinner Party Database of Notable Women. Accessed March 2008.

* *

* ttps://www.denys-savchenko.com/painting/religious_painting/saint-catherine-of-genoa/ Paintings dedicated to Saint Catherine of Genoa {{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine Of Genoa 1447 births 1510 deaths 15th-century Christian mystics 15th-century Italian writers 15th-century Italian women writers 15th-century Genoese people 16th-century Christian mystics 16th-century Christian saints 16th-century Genoese people 16th-century Italian writers 16th-century Italian women writers Christian female saints of the Early Modern era Incorrupt saints Medieval Italian saints Members of the Third Order of Saint Francis Roman Catholic mystics Women of medieval Genoa Fieschi family Canonizations by Pope Clement XII Beatifications by Pope Clement X Anglican saints