Saint Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) was an Italian tertiary of the Dominican Order and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She is venerated in the Catholic Church as a Doctor of the Church — one of only four women to hold this title.
Born the 24th child of a cloth dyer in Siena, she began having visions from the age of six. As a young woman she cared for the poor and sick in Siena before becoming an influential figure in Italian politics and in the Church.
Her most notable letters were to Pope Gregory XI, whom she addressed bluntly as "Babbo" (father) and urged to return the papacy from Avignon to Rome — which he ultimately did in 1377. Her major work, The Dialogue of Divine Providence (or simply The Dialogue), is a series of conversations between God the Father and a soul who represents Catherine herself.
She was canonized by Pope Pius II in 1461, proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and named a patron of Europe by Pope John Paul II in 1999.
