Evening star., 1932-04-09
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C.. BOEERM4N,

Canonization, If a process of eleva-
ton, is also one Of isolation. Few
| ordinary people look upon saints as
fellow human beings and as the saints
60 down farther and farther into the
dim past they are likely to become
complete distractions. Yet the records
of their lives often show them to have
had most interesting personalities, en-
| tirely apart from their SaintlineSS.
When a biographer with the power of
| insight and sympathy and the gift of
style goes through these records and
selects from them with discrimination,
an unusually good biography is the re-
| suit. Sabatier did this for St. Francis
of Assist His biography and the fres-
Goes of Giotto have helped to make one
of the most lovable of saints seem like
a personal friend to many. One Of the
younger American biographers writing
| today, Jeannette Eaton, who created
such a vivid picture Of Nine. Roland in
! "A Daughter of the Seine" has recent
! " been studying the records of the life
of St. Catherine Of Siena and the re-
suit is the biography, Tine Flame: st,
Catherine of Siena" Miss Eaton spent
some time in Siena and Rome studying
sources, a list of which she gives in her
DlDlORTdDIlY. Dit SSCIllS AZ lIlc SAINT
time to have become thoroughly i'm
bued with the spirit Of the fourteenth
century in Italy and thoroughly en-
/ thusiastic over her saint. Some of the
1 chief sources of authentic information
about the life of st. Catherine of Siena
are the ''Leggenda Maggiore," by Raj
monde dele Vigna da Capua, Cath
. crimes confeSsor, and the "Leggenda
! Minore," by TommaSo Nacci Catfarlni,
one of her fellowship.
} Caterina Benincasa, born in 1347, was
the youngest of 25 children of Giacomo
Benincasa. a cloth dyer, living and
working under tine same roof, on the
slope OF Siene, which drops from the
+ center of the city to the gate near the
| Fcnte Branda She was an attractive
child. happy and loving the things OF
childhood, but given to moods Of Sc
robustness and remarked in the neigh
borhood for her good sense beyond her
years Until she was nearly IL she led
/ the usual life of the little girls in the
Fonte Branda quarter, helping her
mother in the big kitchen. where the
soup kettle always hung over the great
hearthstone; going with her brother TO
/ fetch water from the Fonte Branda,
SOlllEIllilCo pdgllIk NlotIo W SuobOaASAS
with her father, telling stories to the
! children of the neighborhood. Once,
when returning with her brother Ste
fano from a visit to their married sis
ter, who lived high up in the city be-
yond the Duomo, Catherine had
strange experience. They had passed
I through the narrow lane of Vallepiata,
so noted for the evil deeds done there
that the Signoria had recently closed
it at night, and had come out in sight
of San Domenico, nearly home. For
moment Stefano lost sight of his Sis
ter, then discovered her, standing with
her face lifted toward San Domenlco
! and "a look of bliss such as Stefano
had never seen rested on her face"
For her the skies above San Domenico
had opened and she saw there a group
Of strange and marvellous shapes q
blend OF colors more glorious than
Dulcio had painted in his 'Maestas' at
the Duomo." When Stefano shook her
by the arm and called to her. she burst
into tears, because her beautiful vision
had vanished. The increased serious
ness and dreamineSs which followed
this vision annoyed and alarmed her
mother, the sharp -tongued but kindly
Lapa. and she began to plan an early
/ marriage Tor her daughter, as a cure
! for all such vagaIies. The talk of mar
rlage on the part of her mother and
among her young companions impelled
catherine to make a vow never to
marry, but to devote her life to the
service of God. To make herself un-
acceptable for betrothal, she cut off her
long, thick hair. She was then in her
sixteenth year. Though she longed for
life Of holiness and service, she had
! no wish to be nun. "One night, kept
sleeplesS by her agonizing uncertainty.
she had waking dream of amazing
Vlvldness. She saw st. Dominic him
sell holding out to her a robe of white
and black. Daughter he said, one
day thou shalt wear this robe She
woke with start And suddenly she
I knew. She would join the Mantellate-
/ the Third Order of San Domenico. It's
VOWS OF service and purity of living did
not involve retirement from the world
nor from earthly duties"
*x*
As a Mantellata, Catherine was 10
become a prominent figure in the tur-
Dulent life Of the Italy of her time
without personal ambition, she was.
| because Of her abilities, drawn into
a position Of leadership in the struggles
mat were going on between church
and state and between rival factions
OF the church. About her gathered
oy degrees men and women of position
ana mental gifts, attracted by her per
sonar magnetism and the spiritual
force and insight which they felt in
her. She was invited to Pisa by its
IuIeIs 10 arouse enthusiasm for a pro-
posed crusade, and while there had a
mystic experience. Even those wbo
loved Catherine and believed in her
more than in any one on earth made
no attempt to follow the mystery of
thS complete penetration into the
event OF Golgotha. They only kpeu,
that so absolutely had she Imagined
the sacrifice of Christ that there in
the church she had felt physically
the wounds inflicted on the Gross. She
had received the Stigmata. Until the
END OF her life she was conscious of
recurrent pain which to her was a
n!lSS1ul sign of oneness with the Son
OF God" In 1875 she undertook the
oouole mission OF reconciling Pooe
Gregory A1 with the Florentines, who
were under an interdict, and of bring
ing back the Holy Fathef from sunny
gay AVignon to tumultuous Rome. The
death OF Gregory XI seemed to threat
en- the results for which she had
worksS so hard. Two Popes were
: elected by the two opposing factions
French and Italian; Urban vi ruled at
Rome and Clement VII at Avignon
BY this time GATHERINGS reputation
had spread through Italy and Urbsn
summoned her TO Rome to aid in sub-
DUNG revolt Of the people. At Rome
worn out by the lf-imposed hardshinS
of her life, she failed rapidly Il,
strength and died in 1880. Not until
1851, however, was this celebrated
character assigned place among the
saints OF the church. 1t was the nriv-
! ilege Of a fellow citizen of hers, a mem
| Der Of the Piccolomini family of Siena
who had been elected Pope, to issue the
papal Bull of Canonization. Ths
act Of Plus II set the sacred seal unon
that realization of her more than
earthly goodness which hnA -.