Catherine of Siena: A Passionate Life

Don Brophy

“Don Brophy has succeeded in a very difficult enterprise, presenting Catherine of Siena in all of her human and religious beauty and complexity to casual readers as well as to more serious ones. He portrays the saint’s personality and—importantly—her spirituality with sensitivity and balance. And he has managed to depict the tortuous civil and ecclesiastical contexts of Catherine’s 14th century in an understandable style.” — Suzanne Noffke, OP, translator and interpreter of the works of Catherine of Siena

Against the backdrop of 14th-century Europe—a time of social turmoil, outbreaks of the bubonic plague, a catastrophic war that devastated the continent, and an overall transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance—this intelligent and comprehensive biography of an oftentimes irreverent, intense, and fiery woman offers an entry point into the life of Catherine of Siena. Deeply researched and based on the latest sources, this history recalls Saint Catherine—as she would later be called—as a champion of peace who cajoled and, at times, begged popes, monarchs, and ordinary citizens to do her will. Describing her sheer fortitude and personal magnetism, this accessible and absorbing account details the spiritual and political beliefs of Catherine of Siena as she attempted to restore order to a fractured Italian city-state system, campaigned Pope Gregory XI in Avignon to return the papacy to Rome, and tried to resolve the Western Schism of 1378—a challenge that proved to be her ultimate test. Perfect for historians and readers of any faith or none, this compelling exploration paints a human portrait of a great mystic and spiritual teacher, who was canonized in 1461 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1970.

Don Brophy was for many years acquiring editor and managing editor for the book publisher Paulist Press. He is the author of One Hundred Great Catholic Books and The Story of Catholics in America. He lives in New York City.