===== Saint Catherine of Siena =====

Part of the  [[Field Guide to Flying Saints]]

**born:**  Siena 1347 

**died:**  Rome april 29 1380

Doctor of the Church and patron saint of Italy.
 
She was the 23rd child of Jacopo Benincasa. She saw angels as clearly as ordinary people. Aged 7, after a vision of 'Christ in glory' she promised her virginity to Him. To show her determination not to marry, she cut off her hair. Her family was furious, but Jacopo ordered her to be left alone and allowed a room for prayer.

She mystically married Jesus and his foreskin served as a wedding ring. After her death her hand with the praeputium of [[Jesus Christ of Nazareth]]   became a relic and the famous part of the penis of the lord, though invisible, was told to swell and turn red for two virgins. She liked to be humiliated and drank cupfuls of cancerous puss from a sick woman that abused her.

Catherine got the Pope to move back to Italy from France. In 1378 the Great Schism began and devastated Catherine. She had a seizure and died.
 
**Wingspan:**  1,68m
 
**Weight (approx):**  44kg
 
**Range and distribution:**  Italy
 
**Color:**  white and brown tunic.
 
**Special features:**  ring, stigmata, lily.
 

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