St Catherine of Siena was a Dominican nun best known
for her extraordinary piety and for her stigmata,
wounds she received for her adoration of the cross.
She is recognized by her stigmata and a crown of thorns
or roses, and is usually pictured adoring the crucifix,
which sometiumes has a lily or rose intertwined. The
Skull is a symbol of her penance. Her patronage is
sick, nurses, temptation, illness, and firefighters.
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA'S PATRON SAINT
St. Catherine is a the patron saint of Europe, firefighters,
against fire, bodily ills, illness, miscarriages, nurses,
people ridiculed for their piety, against sexual temptation
and sick people. St. Catherine suffered much sickness during
her lifetime, and so her patronage of sick people and illness
is apparent. Her patronage of firefighters has an interesting
history: During her ecstasies, St. Catherine, at times fell
into fires, so transported was she from her surroundings;
however, her skin and clothes remained untouched by the
flames. She is also the patron saint of misscarriages, nurses,
nursing services and, people ridiculed for their piety.
