Saint Catherine of Bologna

Life story

Catherine de' Vigri was born on 8 September 1413 in Bologna. Her father Giovanni Vigri was a notary in the service of the marquis of Ferrara, so she grew up at that court, where she studied literature, music, painting and Latin, and was a companion to the marquis's daughter.

In 1426 she left the court to live in a community of lay women. In 1431 this community became a reformed Poor Clare convent named Corpus Domini at Ferrara, where she spent most of her life. There she trained the novices and worked copying and illustrating books. She wrote The Seven Spiritual Weapons, printed in 1475. She also illuminated her own breviary, and some panel paintings are attributed to her.

In 1456 she was sent to Bologna with twelve sisters to found a new Corpus Domini convent, and she served as its abbess. She died on 9 March 1463 at the age of forty-nine. Her body is preserved, seated behind glass, in the convent chapel in Bologna. She was beatified in 1524 and canonised on 22 May 1712. The book circulated in manuscript and was printed after her death. Her illuminated breviary and the paintings attributed to her show her skill as an artist, which is why she is remembered as a patron of artists. She is also said to have been a gifted musician, and the court education she received in Ferrara left a lasting mark on her writing and her art. Her relics are kept in the convent chapel in Bologna.

Works and witness

• Raised and educated at the Ferrara court
• Lived in the Corpus Domini Poor Clare convent at Ferrara from 1431
• Wrote The Seven Spiritual Weapons, printed in 1475
• Illuminated her own breviary; several paintings are attributed to her
• Abbess of the Corpus Domini convent in Bologna from 1456

Patron of

Artists

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Catherine of Bologna, Le sette armi spirituali (The Seven Spiritual Weapons)
• Martyrologium Romanum
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.