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Saint Catherine of Siena was one of the greatest followers of Christ. Her ability to articulate the Gospel and her courage to call even the papacy to reform are among the key reasons she is one of my favorite saints. My youngest daughter is even named after this amazing saint, which means her story shows up often in our home in very real and tangible ways.
Read on to learn five amazing facts about Catherine:
25 Kids and Counting
While it may seem astronomical to us, having 25 children was not unusual in the Middle Ages. High infant mortality meant families often welcomed many children, though far fewer survived to adulthood.
Catherine was the 25th child born to her mother, but only about half of her siblings lived past childhood.
Even that detail says something profound about God’s providence. Out of a massive family, in a time marked by fragility and loss, God raised up a mystic, a reformer, and eventually a Doctor of the Church.
It’s the kind of story that reminds us how God works quietly through ordinary families. One child. One soul. One “yes” that changes everything.
And honestly, this is one of the reasons my kids connect so much with her story. When saints stop feeling like distant statues and start feeling like real people from real families, something shifts. That’s part of why something as simple as a letter “from” a saint, like the ones from Letters From Heaven, can help kids make that connection.
None of the Nunnery
I always assumed Catherine lived in a convent like Thérèse of Lisieux or Teresa of Ávila.
She didn’t.
Catherine joined the Third Order of St. Dominic, which meant she lived in the world at home while dedicating herself completely to God. No cloister. No convent walls. Just radical holiness in the middle of everyday life.
Her early life was marked by intense prayer and even what she described as a kind of spiritual betrothal to Christ. That intimacy with Jesus did not lead her away from the world. It pushed her into it.
She served the sick. She cared for the dying during the plague. And she wrote letters, hundreds of them, to priests, leaders, and even the pope.
Catherine shows us that holiness is not about escaping the world. It is about transforming it.
Gone Too Soon
Why do the most vibrant and holy souls seem to leave us too early?
It’s a question that doesn’t have easy answers. We feel it when a loved one dies young. We see it in the lives of saints. Catherine is no exception.
She died at just 33 years old, the same age as Jesus Christ at the time of His Passion.
But her life was anything but small.
In just three decades, she became a spiritual director, a peacemaker, a caretaker of plague victims, and an advisor to popes during one of the most chaotic periods in Church history.
My daughter is named after Saint Catherine of Siena and absolutely loved receiving a letter inspired by her life. There is something powerful about helping kids see that saints were not just holy. They were alive, passionate, and deeply human.
Sometimes the saints do not live long lives. But they live full ones.
Never Let Obstacles Get in Your Way
It would have been easy for Catherine to stay silent.
After all, who was she?
A young laywoman with no formal authority and no political power.
And yet, she wrote directly to Pope Gregory XI, urging him to return the papacy from Avignon back to Rome.
She did not just write once. She persisted with clarity, boldness, and charity.
Eventually, she even traveled to meet him in person.
That kind of courage does not come from personality. It comes from prayer, from union with Christ, and from knowing that obedience to God matters more than comfort or reputation.
The saints did not wait until they felt qualified. They acted because they were called.
Unseen Suffering
The stigmata, wounds that mirror Christ’s Passion, are among the most mysterious gifts given to certain saints.
In Catherine’s case, something unique happened.
She received the stigmata, but they were invisible to others. She alone experienced the pain and reality of the wounds while outwardly appearing untouched.
That hidden suffering feels especially relevant today.
We live in a world that often measures everything by what can be seen. Catherine reminds us that the deepest union with Christ often happens in ways no one else notices.
Interior battles. Silent sacrifices. Hidden fidelity.
It is also part of what makes introducing our children to the saints so important. Not just the dramatic moments, but the interior lives. The quiet holiness. The unseen “yes” to God.
That is something I have come to appreciate more, especially through simple and tangible ways of sharing the saints with my kids, whether reading about them together or letting them “hear” from them through creative tools like Letters From Heaven.
God raises up holy individuals in times of great need. Saint Catherine of Siena is a perfect role model for Catholics in the 21st century, especially in a world where it is easy to grow lukewarm or distracted.
She reminds us that prayer and action belong together. That courage and charity are not opposites. And that one faithful soul can make an impact far beyond what seems possible.
May we ask for her help to grow in love and devotion to God.
“Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire.”
— St. Catherine of Siena
Thanks again to today’s article sponsor! Visit Letters From Heaven to learn more about amazing saints and their stories.
Related Links
Spiritual Surgeons—Saint Catherine of Siena
Saint Catherine of Siena’s Miracle in My Life
How Saint Catherine of Siena Leads You to God
St. Catherine of Siena: Saint of the Eucharist
