Catherine of Genoa
Feast Day March 24

Patron of Those who Pray for Change in the Lives of Loved Ones

The story of the life of Saint Catherine of Genoa is like so many of our prodigals.  She started out on the right path and then, after entering into a difficult marriage, became discouraged and lived for a while trying to ease her disillusionment with the pleasures of the world.  Meditating on her life, those of us who pray for our prodigals should not give up because the most amazing transformations can come about when the time is right.  For Catherine it happened in the confessional.  Her life took a completely different direction once the Holy Spirit moved her.

Who was Saint Catherine of Genoa?

     The Sacrament of Confession became the turning point of Catherine’s life.  Luxury and self-indulgence was the norm among the nobility of Italy.  Catherine was born into this lifestyle which focused on the creative artisans of the Renaissance rather than the needs of the poor of the time.
     Catherine wanted to become a nun when she was 13, but was too young. At 16 she married a nobleman who was selfish and unfaithful. To cope, Catherine turned to a life of selfish pleasure.
     One day in confession she realized how much God loved her. She changed her life.  Her example brought her husband to change his life, also. They moved to a hospital in Genoa, and practiced works of charity and self-sacrifice until their deaths.
      Catherine wrote the Treatise on Purgatory in which she said begins on earth for souls open to God. Life with God in heaven is a continuation and perfection of the life with God begun on earth.  Her interpretation of Purgatory comes from her own experience as she claimed the love of God placed her in purgatory while still here on the earth, and cleansed her soul. Catherine died September 15, 1510, and was canonized in 1737.  

Words of
Saint Catherine of Genoa

"If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze." 

 "Since I began to love, love has never forsaken me. It has ever grown to its own fullness within my innermost heart."

Prayer to Catherine of Genoa

Dear St Catherine of Genoa, by the example of your life which was changed through God's grace from one of self-indulgence to one of self-sacrifice, help us to look deeply into our own hearts and ask God to help us see what needs to change and for the grace to change it.  Ask God to give us the gift of perseverance in prayer for our beloved prodigals so that we might see their hearts soften just as the heart of your husband was softened by witnessing the changes in your life.  May we continue to love unconditionally as we wait for the joy of seeing them return to the Church.  We make this prayer through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in the name of Jesus. Amen.