March 9, 1368 – Siena, Italy
Catherine Benincasa was born the youngest of twenty-five children in Siena, Italy. She was so joyful as a child that they nicknamed her “Eu-phro-sy-ne,” from the Greek word for “merriment.” At age six, while walking home with her brother, she stopped in her tracks. When she did not respond to his calls, he walked back to her and shook her, as from a dream. She burst into tears, having beheld in the sky a vision of Jesus seated in glory with the Apostles Peter, Paul, and John. A year later, she made a secret vow to give her whole life to God.
In her teenage years, Catherine’s parents began pressuring her to enter marriage, but she voiced with her intention not to. When her parents persisted, she cut short her beautiful golden-brown hair. As punishment, they made her do menial work in the household and, knowing she craved prayerful solitude, never allowed her to be alone. She bore all this with patient sweetness, later writing that God showed her how to build within her soul a private chamber where no tribulation could enter.
On Fat (or Shrove) Tuesday, while the people of Siena were celebrating carnival, the 21-year-old Catherine was praying in her room. A vision of Jesus appeared, with by Mary and the heavenly angels. Our Lady took Catherine’s hand and held it up to Christ, who placed a ring upon it and mystically married her to himself. Though invisible to others, this ring of St. Catherine of Siena was always visible to her.
Some misunderstand the meaning and purpose of celibacy in the Church. Jesus Christ, St. Paul, St. Catherine, and others have encouraged and lived this way of life not because human connection or natural marriage are bad, but because celibacy allows for a higher and broader intimacy. Every person is called to marriage, be it natural or spiritual; and everyone one is called to have children, be they biological or spiritual.
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