4 September is the feast day for Blessed Catherine of Racconigi, in Piedmont. Blessed Catherine was a Lay Dominican who was born in 1486 and died in 1547, abandoned by her friends after a life of renunciation and union. She followed the purgative, illuminative and unitive path.

Her life and the tokens she received mirrored St Catherine of Siena, her patroness. She became a member of the Third Order of St Dominic, received the Stigmata, although invisibly to the eyes of others, and shared in the sufferings of Our Lord’s Crown of Thorns.

Blessed Catherine was zealous for souls and their salvation from Hell, and she visited many to warn them of their peril and took on herself their sufferings.

Blessed Catherine’s life exemplifies the virtues of trust and confidence. Her heartfelt aspiration was “Jesu, spes mea!” as she sought union through her daily work as a weaver, mortifications and prayer.

Howard Trust