Catherine of Genoa (Caterina Fieschi Adorno, 1447 – 15 September 1510) was an Italian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

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 A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

Fieschi The Fieschi were a noble merchant family from Genoa, Italy, from whom descend the Fieschi Ravaschieri Princes of Belmonte. Of ancient origin, they took their name from the progenitor ''Ugo Fliscus'', descendants of the counts of Lavagna. The fam ...

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 pe ...

which ravaged

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

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 Friedrich von Hügel (born ''Friedrich Maria Aloys Franz Karl Freiherr von Hügel'', usually known as ''Baron von Hügel''; 5 May 1852 – 27 January 1925) was an influential Austrian Catholic layman, religious writer, and Christian apologist. Al ...

'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 This is a list of viceroys of the Kingdom of Naples. Following the conquest of Naples by Louis XII of France in 1501, Naples was subject to the rule of the foreign rulers, the Kings of France, Aragon and Spain and the Habsburg Archdukes of Austri ...

.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 A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

when about 13, perhaps inspired by her sister who was an

Augustinian nun Augustinian nuns are the most ancient and continuous segment of the Roman Catholic Augustinian religious order under the canons of contemporary historical method. The Augustinian nuns, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430), are sever ...

. 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 A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

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. 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

'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 , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

tertiary, but she joined no religious order. 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 Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

", which are often printed separately. Her authorship of these has been denied, and it used to be thought that another mystic, the Augustinian

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, a nun who lived in a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

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 The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...

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 Pope Clement X ( la, Clemens X; it, Clemente X; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death in July 1676. Elected pope at ag ...

, and

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

in 1737 by Pope Clement XII. Her writings also became sources of inspiration for other religious leaders such as

Robert Bellarmine Robert Bellarmine, SJ ( it, Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino; 4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only 37. ...

and

Francis de Sales Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...

and Cardinal

Henry Edward Manning Henry Edward Manning (15 July 1808 – 14 January 1892) was an English prelate of the Catholic church, and the second Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 until his death in 1892. He was ordained in the Church of England as a young man, but conv ...

. Catherine of Genoa's liturgical feast is celebrated in local calendars on 15 September. Pope Pius XII 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