Christian Women in the Medieval Era – Part 45

Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) – Part 2

Introduction

We have been taking a journey through the Middle Ages (around 500 AD to 1500 AD) with stories of queens, abbesses, nuns, Beguines, sisters in monasteries, writers, godly wives, mothers, empresses, social reformers, and many other women who served Christ that God called and gifted to serve Him during this very interesting time in history. So far, our journey has taken us from Genovefa (423 – 502) through Angela of Foligno (1248-1309). 

In the late thirteenth century and first half of the fourteenth century there were tremendous conflicts between Church and state which affected everybody since European culture was basically Christian. Sadly, in the 13^thand 14^th centuries, there began a “widening credibility gap between the institutional church and the conscience of the ordinary faithful.”^[1] People were distressed that there was even actually war between popes and kings. By the fourteenth century church leaders were living as richly as kings. Many devout believers including Francis of Assisi and Saint Benedict sought to restore the Church to her original calling to follow Christ, who was poor and humble in service to others. 

There were also many women who sought to encourage the church leaders to return to following Christ’s example of service. In our next few stories, we will see how godly women went about prayerfully, respectfully, and righteously confronted church rulers pleading for the true peace and love of the gospel.

Catherine’s Ministry to the Church

In Part 1 of our story about Catherine of Siena we saw that she became well-known as a very pious and spiritual woman. Her popularity could be likened to Mother Teresa of our time. She was not only held in very high regard for her wisdom; she was loved deeply for her care for the poor. With her true humility and compassion, she turned many lost souls to Jesus for their salvation. It did not take long for the pope and the cardinals in Avignon to wish for her to visit them and speak to her themselves. 

It would have been great if they had had true Christian humility and wanted to learn from Catherine, but actually they just wanted to take advantage of her reputation with the people. They had no intention of changing their opulent lifestyle. They knew that she was coming to talk the pope into moving back to Rome. They wanted to keep Pope Gregory in Avignon so they could continue living in luxury. It was a sad time in the church when the shepherds only cared about themselves and not the flock. To understand what they would be giving up, let us look at some pictures of the palace in Avignon.

I was raised Roman Catholic. I went to Catholic schools. We were never told that the popes were anywhere other than Rome. I remember that a few years ago as I studied church history, I was incredulous when I heard that the popes were in Southern France for over 100 years. I had trouble believing it until I had the chance to visit the Palace of the Popes near Avignon when in 2018, I went on a trip to Europe with my daughter Angie. We looked at many historical sites and had a wonderful time. Perhaps I will share some of my photos from Rome later, but this week I want to share the photos I took at the former papal estate in Avignon. 

Pope Benedict XII began building it in 1335. It was finished under Pope Clement VI nearly twenty years later. Even today, when it is nearly 700 years old you can still get an idea of its wealth and grandeur. It is the largest Gothic palace in the world. My daughter and I needed all day to visit over 20 rooms and courtyards. The tour guide informed us that there is over 15,000 square meters of living space. This is about equivalent to 4 Gothic cathedrals. No wonder the cardinals of the fourteenth century felt like royalty!

This first photo comes from the Internet. It shows you how grand the estate is. The next three photos are my own. Notice the massive towers. 

Photo #5 is of the courtyard. It is also from the Internet.  Below it (#6), is my own photo of the courtyard.

Photos 7-10 are my own photos of the interior of the palace. 

There were gorgeous frescoes and some stained-glass windows throughout (the ones that didn’t get destroyed in the French Revolution in the nineteenth century). 

I hope the photos give you an idea of the grand life the church leaders were living in the fourteenth century. Catherine and others tried to convince the leaders to return to Christ’s admonition to “sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven (Matthew 19:21). The cardinals chose to keep their treasure on earth. Catherine could not convince them to reform.

Catherine had the courage to do what she believed God had called her to. She had worked diligently to try and get the church leaders to reform. When Catherine went back to Avignon in 1376, she went with the intention of convincing Pope Gregory to stop being a coward and hiding in France, and to go back to Rome. Much to the consternation of the cardinals, he listened to her. Gregory may have been having doubts, but she told him that she happened to know that he had made a secret vow to move the papacy back to the Holy City. Realizing that Catherine was speaking the truth he was shook to the center of his being. He had in fact made such a vow, but he had never told anyone! How could Catherine know about this? Perceiving her to be a prophet from God he decided to return to Italy. 

Catherine traveled ahead of Gregory to Pisa and Lucca to convince those cities not to join in Florence’s rebellion against the pope. In three months, Gregory XI was in Rome. Only a year and a half later he died. It was said that as he was dying, he changed his mind about Catherine and expressed regrets that he had ever listened to that “meddling woman”. 

After Gregory’s death in 1378, the Cardinals, mostly French, elected an Italian Pope, Urban VI, who on attaining office turned out to be arrogant and abrasive and tyrannical. Urban was wicked and cruel and difficult to deal with. The Cardinals met again elsewhere, declared that the first election had been under duress from the Roman mob and therefore invalid, and elected a new Pope, Clement VII, who established his residence at Avignon. 

Now there were two popes.  Catherine worked resolutely, both to persuade Urban to mend his ways and to persuade others that the peace and unity of the Church required the recognition of Urban as lawful Pope. The papal schism greatly weakened the prestige of the bishops in Europe. 

Catherine remained loyal to Urban VI. She believed that she should submit to rightful authority. She “would not defy him,” she declared, if he were “the devil incarnate”. She did try to help him reform however earning the reputation of an uncompromising reformer who perfected the art of “kissing the pope’s feet while simultaneously twisting his arm.” She wrote him many sincere letters trying to persuade him to mend his ways, which he never did. Catherine believed that the papacy belonged in Rome and worked to that end for the rest of her short life. She literally wore herself out and died at age 33 in Rome. 

In Part 3, we will look at the rest of Catherine’s life including her writings.

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^[1] Paul Lachance, O.F.M., Translator. Angela of Foligno: Complete Works (New York: Paulist Press, 1993). P. 28.