The Dialogue of St Catherine of Siena – with an account of her death by Ser Barduccio di Piero Canigiani

St Catherine was born in 1347 at Siena in northern Italy. The 25th child of a wood dyer, she began seeing visions at the age of 6, and throughout her life experienced mystical appearances of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Saints. She was given the Stigmata in 1375, five years before her death at the age of 33. St Catherine's 'Dialogue' was written "during a state of ecstasy while in dialogue with God the Father." It is set out in the form of four petitions to God, and (via metaphor, analogy and allegory) describes the Deity's response, emphasizing the need to foster virtue, prayer and obedience. Wholly uneducated, Saint Catherine became the second woman to be named 'Doctor of the Church', due in large part to the profound wisdom of the 'Dialogue', an inspiring revelation from God.