Catherine of His

Biography

Catherine Benincasa was born with His, in Italy, the March 25th 1347. In 1352, at the 5 years age, it makes wish of virginity for Christ following a vision of the Christ-Pontiff. It was girl of a Teinturier. At the 15 years age, it revêt the dress of the sisters of the Penitence of Saint Dominique (the Mantellate ), a pious grouping, makes primarily widows, who did not follow strictly speaking a religious rule (not of wishes); Dominique de Guzmán had joined together and organized the laic ones in a “militia” charged to resist to the heretics and to recover and defend the goods of the Church usurped by the laic ones.

In 1368 takes place its “mystical Mariage with Christ”. This same year dies his/her father and takes place with His a coup d'etat, at the time which Catherine saves her brothers. In 1370, it gives its heart to Jesus for the Church. Same year date its first letters and the first conversions.

Before 1374, the young person Mystique, who caused the astonishment with His and in the Dominican order, appears before the general Chapter of Dominican in Florence. It meets there the Bienheureux Raymond de Capoue which will become its spiritual Directeur.

With the Pentecost, it receives the Stigmates of Christ. Starting from 1375, it takes in a public way defense of the interests of the pope, while engaging for the return of the popes of Avignon to Rome and for the unit and independence of the Church. It goes to Avignon and, to try to persuade Gregoire XI, brings to him five crystallized oranges gathered on the orange tree planted by Dominique saint to Holy-Sabine, in Rome, on the Aventin. In September 1376, it returns to His and Gregoire XI takes the way of Rome. Catherine continues to represent and defend the pope in the Italian cities in full boiling.

In 1378, after the death of Gregoire XI, Urbain VI becomes pope at the conclusion of a tumultuous election. Catherine emits warning statements but in spite of that the Great Schism of Occident occurs and the election of Robert of Geneva, the Antipape Clément VII. The same year, Catherine begins the drafting of her Dialogs , which would have been composed in five days of extase, from October 9th to 14th. Catherine is established definitively in Rome.

In 1380, after having received in a vision the nave of the Church on its shoulders, in Saint-Pierre, it dies at the 33 years age exténuée by the austerities.

Its Works

There are of it treaties of devotion, letters and poetries remarkable by the elegance and the purity of the style. It leaves in particular a Dialogo della Divina Providenza , dictated two years before its death, and 382 letters addressed as much to common peoples as with powerful (popes, kings, clerks or laic) which it wrote during the ten last years of its life. These writings burn mystical enthusiasm and its effective rhetoric, mixes biblical images and common expressions, indicates a strong will of persuasion.

The most exact edition and most complete of its works is that of Jerome Gigu, under this title: Opère untied serafica jumped Catarina , His and Lucques, 1707 - 1713, 4 volumes in-4.

One notices there a Dialog between our Heavenly Father and co. Catherine , which it dictated in 1378 being charmed in Extase. A legend exploited by the painters of Italy makes this holy one promised in marriage of Christ.

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