April 29
St. Catherine of Siena
A fourteenth-century Dominican tertiary and Doctor of the Church who personally convinced Pope Gregory XI to return the papacy from Avignon to Rome, ending a seventy-year exile. She experienced the stigmata, dictated hundreds of letters to popes and kings, and died at 33. She is co-patron of Europe.
Why it matters for your parish:
One of only four women Doctors of the Church. Exceptional content for women's groups, leadership reflections, and parishes wanting to highlight the full breadth of Catholic sanctity.
