Saint Who?
Saints Whose Bodies Resisted Corruption
Saint Catherine of Bologna
Religious († 1463)Feast: March 9
As a young girl, Catherine de’Vigri was chosen to be the companion to a princess. But when the princess became engaged, Catherine, then about fourteen, decided to give her life to God alone. She joined a group of Augustinian tertiaries and later joined some of them in forming a community of Poor Clares, where she worked at such humble tasks as laundry and parlor duty.
Catherine was a talented artist, writer, and musician, but as Benedict XVI noted, she “did not want to be someone or something; she did not care for appearances…. Catherine was credible in her authority, because she was able to see that for her authority meant, precisely, serving others.” In 1456, she was asked to establish a new convent in the city of Bologna. Here she cared lovingly for the needy and for her community, despite physical sufferings and periods of intense spiritual darkness and temptation. She died in 1463, reportedly while playing the viola.
A sweet odor emanating from Catherine’s grave caused her to be disinterred about three weeks after her death. Her body was found to be incorrupt. Over a decade later, the nuns decided to move the relics to a new location in the monastery. But the resting place was too small. So, it is said, the superior ordered Catherine’s body to take a sitting position. The corpse quickly obeyed. Catherine was canonized in 1712.
Beloved Father, through the intercession of
Saint Catherine of Bologna, grant humble hearts to those who lead religious communities.
