St. Catherine of Bologna icon

St. Catherine of Bologna icon
© Cecilia Lawrence
August 17th 2017
4.5 x 6 inches
Ink, watercolor, gold leaf

“Here is a wise virgin, from among the number of the prudent,
who went forth with lighted lamp to meet Christ”
~ from the Common of Virgin Saints

“Jesus Christ gave up his life that we might live, therefore, whoever wishes to carry the cross for His sake must take up the proper weapons for the contest, especially those mentioned here. First, diligence; second, distrust of self; third, confidence in God; fourth, remembrance of the Passion; fifth, mindfulness of one’s own death; sixth, remembrance of God’s glory; seventh, the injunctions of Sacred Scripture following the example of Jesus Christ in the desert.”
~ St. Catharine of Bologna, On the Seven Spiritual Weapons

This icon of St. Catherine of Bologna was part of a larger group of commissioned icons that I finished back in the summer of 2017. I have depicted St. Catherine in the habit of the Poor Clares, holding a book of her writings and a quill pen in one hand and a painting of the Virgin Mary attributed to her in the other. As she is one of the patron saints of artists, I thought it appropriate to depict her with one of her own works. 



:+: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE SAINT :+:

Saint Catherine of Bologna (September 8th 1413 – March 9th 1463 A.D.) known also as Caterina de’Vigri, was born into a noble Bolognese family. Her father was Giovanni Vigri, and her mother was named Benventura Mammolini. Her father was a lawyer who also worked as a diplomat, notary and ambassador for Niccolò III d'Este the powerful Marquis of Ferrara. Catherine was given a good education as a young girl, and learned not only how to read and write in Latin, but also became an accomplished artist, musician, and singer. She learned how to paint as well as how to illuminate manuscripts. At the age of 11 she was sent to the court of the Marquis and served as a lady-in-waiting to his wife, the lady Parisina Malatesta. Catherine befriended Margherita d’Este, the daughter of the Marquis—by his mistress Stella de’Tolome—and the two became fast friends. In 1425, the Marquis beheaded Parisina for having an affair with his bastard son Ugo d'Este (Margherita’s brother). Margherita became engaged soon afterward and wanted Catherine to accompany her as her lady-in-waiting, but Catherine instead felt the call to a religious vocation. In 1427 she became a religious Tertiary, living as a lay sister in a community of women seeking to follow Christ more closely under the Rule of St. Augustine.

While living at Ferrara, she progressed in the spiritual life and went to Mass with the other women in her community at the nearby church of the Holy Spirit run by Franciscan Friars. Her first three years as a religious sister were filled with peace and joy. But the next five years were characterized by painful spiritual torments, doubts and difficulties. She struggled to pray as her prayer life had become desolate and joyless; theological doubts greatly troubled her; she suffered from terrible headaches; and most of all, she felt furiously spiritually attacked and even experienced deceptive apparitions from the devil disguised as Christ and the Virgin Mary which left her desolate and depressed. In spite of this, she battled furiously and perseveringly. In 1429, she made a general confession to one of the Franciscan priests and prayed intensely to the Lord for forgiveness. She afterwards strongly experienced the Lord’s mercy and saw in a vision that He had forgiven her everything. This brought her great interior relief, though she was still often tempted and terribly assailed.

At this period, not only was her interior life troubled, but her community was also tearing itself apart. In 1430, tensions arose in the community whether they ought to establish an Augustinian monastery or join the reform movement of the Poor Clares begun by Collette of Corbie some years earlier. The dissension was bitter, and the leadership of the community was disrupted. Eventually, the bishop stepped in, and, to stop the quarreling, disbanded the community temporarily and ordered all of the women to leave and go back to live with their families until the difficulties could be sorted out. In 1432, Catherine, along with some other women, professed the Rule of St. Clare and joined the new Poor Clares monastery of Corpus Christi in Ferrara.

In this new community, Catherine was appointed Novice Mistress. Catherine took seriously the duty of forming the new sisters. She wrote The Seven Spiritual Weapons as a guide for the novices, speaking of the virtues and spiritual warfare and her own sufferings and spiritual experiences. In the first chapters, she writes of the essential virtues in the spiritual combat, namely: First, to be careful always to do good; second, to believe we can never achieve anything truly good by ourselves; third, to trust in God and, for His love, never to fear the battle against evil, either in the world or in ourselves; fourth, to meditate frequently on the events and words of Jesus’ life, especially His passion and death; fifth, to remember that we must die; sixth, to keep the benefits of heaven firmly in our minds; and seventh, to be familiar with Holy Scripture, keeping it in our hearts to guide all our thoughts and actions.

Catherine was a wise, moderate, gentle, and prayerful sister in the community. Some attributed the saving of Bologna from the Milanese to her intercession, and she was highly thought of in the city. In prayer, she experienced many mystical visions and enjoyed great contemplative prayer. In the community, she worked humbly, not only serving as Novice Mistress, but also working as laundress, dressmaker, baker, and cared for the community's animals. When the abbess Taddea Pio da Capri died the other sisters wanted to make Catherine abbess, but she instead recommended that they look to the Poor Clares of Mantua for leadership.

In 1456, her superior ordered her to go to Bologna and establish a new monastery there. Catherine was forty-three at the time, and felt that she was ill-suited to go, but she obeyed when she realized that this was what the Lord wanted her to do. So, with little more than a dozen other sisters, she left her beloved Ferrara and established the monastery of Corpus Domini in Bologna. After three years as abbess she stepped down, but was obliged to resume the duties of abbess after her replacement became blind. She was a beloved abbess: esteemed for her wisdom, gentleness, and her servant’s heart for the sisters in her care. In 1459, Catherine was granted the privilege of receiving her aged mother into the community by a special dispensation of Pope Pius II.

In 1463, her health became worse and she suffered terribly from repeated hemorrhaging. One day, while she was rapt in ecstasy, she asked for her viola and began to play and sing with great joy and fervor. On February 25, 1463, she conducted her last community chapter, and spoke for three hours on prayer, and ended by adding, “My beloved sisters and dear children in Christ Jesus, do not be disturbed by my long discourse, for I hope that it will be the last chapter that I will hold.” She died about two weeks later, on March 9th 1463 at the age of 49. It was on her deathbed that she bequeathed her Seven Spiritual Weapons to the community. Catherine was beatified by Pope Clement VII in 1524, and canonized by Pope Clement XI on May 22nd 1712. Today, her relics are enshrined in the Church of Corpus Domini (known also as the Chiesa della Santa) in Bologna, Italy.

“So, whoever desires to journey without danger and happily from this passing life to her heavenly homeland, let her, through the most noble, gentle and kind spouse that she could find and that is, take up this obedience as an impenetrable shield which will give complete victory over our enemies and will be judged at the saving port of eternal retribution, as Christ says: “Whoever follows me does not walk in darkness, but has light.”

But because at the beginning of this battle and even until its very conclusion, she must pass through a stormy sea, that is, by way of many painful temptations and fierce battles, at the beginning of what follows, I will put some powerful weapons with which to fight legitimately against the cunning of our enemies. But it is necessary that each who wishes to enter into this battle never put down her arms, for her enemies never sleep. So, filled with great fervor and confidence, we take up the arms in praise of Christ. Amen.

Whoever from deep within her noble and zealous heart wishes to take up the cross through Jesus Christ our savior who died on the field of battle in order to give us life, let her first take up the arms necessary for such battles and especially those which are treated next in order: first is diligence; second, distrust of self; third, confidence in God; fourth, memory of his passion; fifth, memory of one’s own death, sixth, memory of the glory of God; seventh and last, the authority of Holy Scripture as it gives the example of Christ Jesus in the desert.

The soul which is espoused by the priceless ring of good will, that is of divine love, and wishes to serve God in the spirit of truth, must first cleanse her conscience by a pure and complete confession and make a most firm resolution of not wanting ever again to sin mortally, and instead to die a thousand times if that were possible, because the person who is in mortal sin is not a member of Christ but of the devil, and is deprived of the goods of holy mother the church and cannot do anything which will profit her for eternal life. And she does this also because to wish to serve this God faithfully requires a resolution not to sin mortally, as was said above. But note that, should you be in mortal sin, you should never despair of divine goodness nor cease to do whatever good you can do so that in this way you can get out of sin. And with this hope, always do what is right in whatever state you find yourself.

Besides this, it is fitting that the faithful servant of Christ dispose herself to wish to walk the way of the cross, for it befits all those who serve God to engage in battle against the adversaries of God and from them to receive various painful wounds. And above all, it is necessary to have good and even the best arms, especially those which follow below, to fight against those adversaries vigorously.
~ from The Seven Spiritual Weapons by Saint Catherine of Bologna

 


The Feast of St. Catherine of Bologna is celebrated on March 9th.

St. Catherine of Bologna is the patron saint of the city of Bologna, of artists, those studying the Liberal arts, and those fighting against temptations.

O God,
who declare that you abide in hearts that are pure,
grant that through the intercession of the Virgin blessed Catherine,
we may be so fashioned by your grace,
that we become a dwelling pleasing to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.