Reflections Magazine Issue #63 - Fall 2005 | Page 10

“Faith will give you life and lead you in the way of truth.”
Saint Catherine of Siena

Order in 1970, summed up Catherine’s
devotion to the Dominican order with
these words: “Into Catherine the whole
soul of Dominic passed.”
Saint Catherine grew up the youngest
of 24 children born to Jacopo and Lapa
Benincasa. When she was six years old
Catherine began experiencing visions
that forever changed her life; she is
said to have seen a vision of Christ
smiling in the sky above the church of
San Domenico in Siena, Italy. From this
point on Catherine devoted her life to
God.

A Brief Biography
of Saint Catherine
of Siena

S

iena Heights University is named
in honor of Saint Catherine of
Siena (1347—1380). Eventually
named a Doctor of the Church, Catherine Benincasa was a lay Dominican
woman who worked for spiritual and
social change. Her life was dedicated
to a quest for truth and light in a world
ravaged by war and scandal.
Saint Catherine was a devoted follower of the teachings of Saint Dominic
Guzman, the founder of the Dominican order. Master, fr. Aniceto Fernandez, Master General of the Dominican

At the back entrance to Catherine’s home
– the statue in the background is the mold
used to create a large metal statue that is on
display in the city.
Pictured from left: Trudy McSorley ‘70, Pat
Walter, OP ‘66, Sr. Beatriz (A Dominican Sister
from Siena, Italy), S \