Doctor of the Church
Saint Catherine of Siena
Patron of Italy, Europe, nurses
Feast day: April 29
Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), a Dominican tertiary, was an influential mystic, theologian, and reformer who urged Pope Gregory XI to return the papacy from Avignon to Rome. Her Dialogue of Divine Providence is a masterpiece of mystical theology. Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970 and co-patroness of Europe by Pope John Paul II.
