St Catherine was born in 1347 at Siena in northern Italy. The 25th child of a wood dyer, she began seeing visions at the age of 6, and throughout her life experienced mystical appearances of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Saints. She was given the Stigmata in 1375, five years before her death at the age of 33. St Catherine's 'Dialogue' was written "during a state of ecstasy while in dialogue with God the Father." It is set out in the form of four petitions to God, and (via metaphor, analogy and allegory) describes the Deity's response, emphasizing the need to foster virtue, prayer and...

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) is widely considered one of the greatest saints of all time. She is best known for her mystical "Dialogue" with God the Father, for which she was declared a Doctor of the Church, but her letters are also unmatched in their spiritual power and profundity. Many people do not know that St Catherine was also a stigmatist, bearing the wounds and suffering the passion of Christ for the salvation of souls. She prayed to God to make the wounds invisible so as not to draw attention to herself. Only her confessor, Blessed Raymond of Capua, knew of her sharing in the...