Name/TitleThe Story of Catharine of Siena
MakerWitts, Florence
Maker RoleAuthor
About this objectHardback book with red covers titled 'The Story of Catharine of Siena' by Florence Witts. The chapter headings are:
I. Introductory
II. Early Home Life
III. The Dominican cloak
IV. A Ministering Angel
V. A Widening Sphere
VI. A Winning Intercessor
VII. Stormy Times
VIII. A Divided Church
IX. Rivalry and Strife
X. Faithful to the Last
XI. Catharine as Author
XII. "In Memory of Saint Catharine"
Medium and MaterialsOrganic, board and paper
MeasurementsH: 185 x W: 128 x D: 15 mm
Date Made1901
Period14th century
Place MadeEngland, London
Place NotesThe Sunday School Union, 57 and 59 Ludgate Hill, London E.C.
PublisherThe Sunday School Union
Publication Date1901
Publication PlaceEngland, London
Series TitleSplendid Lives Series
Subject and Association Descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Siena:
Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa (25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), known as Catherine of Siena, was an Italian mystic and pious laywoman who engaged in papal and Italian politics through extensive letter-writing and advocacy. Canonized in 1461, she is revered as a saint and as a Doctor of the Church due to her extensive theological authorship. She is also considered to have influenced Italian literature. Born and raised in Siena, Catherine wanted from an early age to devote herself to God, against the will of her parents. She joined the "mantellates", a group of pious women, primarily widows, informally devoted to Dominican spirituality; later these types of urban pious groups would be formalized as the Third Order of the Dominicans, but not until after Catherine's death. Her influence with Pope Gregory XI played a role in his 1376 decision to leave Avignon for Rome. The Pope then sent Catherine to negotiate peace with the Florentine Republic. After Gregory XI's death (March 1378) and the conclusion of peace (July 1378), she returned to Siena. She dictated to secretaries her set of spiritual treatises, The Dialogue of Divine Providence. The Great Schism of the West led Catherine of Siena to go to Rome with the pope. She sent numerous letters to princes and cardinals to promote obedience to Pope Urban VI and to defend what she calls the "vessel of the Church". She died on 29 April 1380, exhausted by her rigorous fasting. Urban VI celebrated her funeral and burial in the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.
Devotion around Catherine of Siena developed rapidly after her death. Pope Pius II canonized her in 1461; she was declared a patron saint of Rome in 1866 by Pope Pius IX, and of Italy (together with Francis of Assisi) in 1939 by Pope Pius XII. She was the second woman to be declared a Doctor of the Church, on 4 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI – only days after Teresa of Ávila. In 1999 Pope John Paul II proclaimed her a Patron Saint of Europe. Catherine of Siena is one of the outstanding figures of medieval Catholicism due to the strong influence she had in the history of the papacy and her extensive authorship. She was behind the return of the Pope from Avignon to Rome, and then carried out many missions entrusted to her by the pope, something quite rare for a woman in the Middle Ages. Her Dialogue, hundreds of letters, and dozens of prayers also give her a prominent place in the history of Italian literature [continues].
Subject and Association Keywordswomen's history
Subject and Association Keywords(auto) biography
Subject and Association Keywordsreligion, Catholicism
Subject and Association Keywordswomen's writing & literature
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypeBook
Object numberGWL-2025-89-9
Spine LabelCATHARINE OF SIENA ~ FLORENCE WITTS
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved