Women Saints: Doctors of the Church
Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila
Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila made their mark on the Roman Catholic Church. Both have been honored by their religious descendants for their work.
In 1970, the Roman Catholic Church declared two women saints to be Doctors of the Church: Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) and Teresa of Avila (1515-1582). Both were of a mystical bent, and their writings are available on the web today.
A third woman was added as Doctor of the Church in 1977: Saint Térèse of Lisieux.
"Doctor of the Church" is a title given to those whose writings deem to be in accord with the doctrine of the church and which the church believes can be used as teachings. There's some irony in this title for three women, as the church has used words of Paul as an argument against ordination of women: Paul's words are usually interpreted to forbid women from teaching in the church.
Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena was born into a large family, and many of her male relatives were public officials or went into the priesthood. She was the 25th child of her father, and was given to visions from early childhood. At 16 she became a Dominican tertiary.
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She never learned to write and she had no formal education, dictating her letters and other writings to secretaries. The best known of her writings is The Dialogue, a series of theological treatises on doctrine written with a combination of logical precision and heart-felt emotion.
Her assertive and confrontational letters to bishops and popes as well as her commitment to direct service to the sick and the poor have made Catherine a role model for a more worldly and active spirituality. Dorothy Day credits reading a biography of Catherine as a major influence in her life on the way to founding the Catholic Worker Movement.
Her religious writings and good works (and perhaps her well-connected family or her tutor Raymond of Capua) brought her to the attention of Pope Gregory XI, still at Avignon, and Catherine as well as St. Bridget of Sweden are credited with persuading him to return to Rome in 1377. Later, in the Great Western Schism, she assertively supported Pope Urban VI and wrote strong and critical letters to those who supported the Anti-Pope.
Catherine of Siena died at 33, In Raymond of Capua's hagiography of Catherine (hagiography: a biography of a saint, usually written as a demonstration of her or his saintliness), it is noted that this is the age at which Mary Magdalene, a special role model for Catherine, died. I would note that it is also the age at which Jesus was crucified. She was canonized by Pius II in 1461.There was, and is, quite the controversy over Catherine's eating habits. Raymond of Capua wrote that she ate nothing for years except the host, and considered this a demonstration of her holiness. She died, he implies, as a result of her decision to abstain from not only all food but all water as well. An "anorexic for religion"? That's still a matter of some controversy among scholars.
* *Catherine was a favorite subject of several painters. Note especially the "Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine" by Barna de Siena, the "Marriage of Catherine of Siena" by the Dominican Friar Fra Bartolomeo, and the "Maesta (Madonna with Angels and Saints" by Duccio di Buoninsegna. The "Canonization of Catherine of Siena" by Pinturicchio is one of better known artistic depictions of Catherine. (The black and white reproduction on this page is of this fresco.)
Catherine of Siena's feast day is April 29 and she is considered the patroness of Italy.
Suggested Reading
- Avignon Papacy - from About.com's Guide to Medieval History
Teresa of Avila
Teresa of Avila also lived in turbulent times: the West had been opened to exploration just before her birth, and the Reformation began two years after she was born in 1515 in Spain. As a child, she was pious and outgoing -- sometimes a mixture that her parents couldn't handle. Her father sent her at 16 to a convent, but when she decided to enter the convent as a vocation, he at first refused his permission.
In her 40s, Teresa began her work to reform her convent and in 1562 founded her own convent. Many of the nuns of her time lived away from the convent, and, when at the convent, followed the rules rather loosely. She re-emphasized prayer and poverty, working with others such as St. John of the Cross to establish the reform throughout the Carmelites. She also wrote, over five years, the Way of Perfection, perhaps her best-known writing.
With the support of the head of her order, she began to establish other convents that maintained the order's rule strictly. But she also met opposition, and the order separated as the Discalced Carmelites ("calced" referring to the wearing of footwear).
Most of her works, including her Autobiography, were written at the demand of authorities in her order, to demonstrate that she was doing her work of reform for holy reasons. She was under regular suspicion by the Inquisition, in part because her grandfather was a Jew. She objected to these assignments, wanting to work instead on the practical founding and managing of convents and the private work of prayer. But it is by those writings that we know her and her theological ideas.
Teresa of Avila, known also as Teresa of Jesus, died in 1582 while attending a birth. She was canonized in 1622, her feast day is October 15. She is the patron saint of headache sufferers.
Suggested Reading
- biography of Teresa.
- another biography (with a shorter biography as an introduction), both from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
- a lectionary selection highlighting Teresa of Avila, with prayers and readings
- Spiritual Life, a quarterly journal of spirituality that often features the writings of Teresa of Avila
More women's history biographies, by name:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P/Q | R | S | T | U/V | W | X/Y/Z
Author: Jone Johnson Lewis.
Title: "Women Saints: Doctors of the Church"
This URL: http://womenshistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa021599.htm
