At Prato in Tuscany, Saint Catherine de’ Ricci, virgin of the Third Order Regular of Saint Dominic, who gave her whole mind to the work of religious renewal and strove to honor unceasingly the mysteries of the Passion of Jesus Christ, which she was found worthy to experience.
Lifespan: 1523–1590
Beatified: 23 November 1732 by Pope Clement XII
Canonized: 29 June 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV, Vatican Basilica
Memoria liturgica: 2 February
“From this day forward, you must call my heart the heart of the glorious Virgin Mary.”
Born Alessandra Lucrezia Romola in Florence on 25 April 1523, she was left motherless at the age of five.
Despite her father’s opposition, at the age of fourteen she entered the monastery of San Vincenzo in Prato, where she would spend a life marked by ecstatic experiences accompanied by strong bodily signs — manifestations that initially aroused suspicion among her sisters in community. At the centre of her heart, however, there remained always the contemplation of the Passion of Jesus.
She professed her vows in 1536, though her life thereafter alternated between episodes of extraordinary illness and extraordinary recovery. Catherine, at first regarded with distrust, nonetheless came to earn the respect of her sisters. Throughout her life of prayer, several mystical ecstasies carried her into the very heart of Christ’s Passion. The first came in 1542: for twelve years Catherine lived these experiences, which also left visible marks upon her body.
Around her there gathered a circle of disciples — among them several saints — who turned to her for prayers, counsel, and works of charity. She died in 1590.