Along with St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), St. Pope John Paul II declared Catherine of Siena co-patroness of Europe:
- "The hope of building a more just world, a world more worthy of the human person... must be coupled with an awareness that human efforts are of no avail if not accompanied by divine grace.... "Saint Catherine of Siena['s]...role in the unfolding history of the Church and also in the growing theological understanding of revelation has been recognized in significant ways, culminating in her proclamation as a Doctor of the Church....Many people, including members of the clergy, gathered around her and became her disciples, recognizing in her the gift of spiritual motherhood....she stressed the reform of morals to all, without exception....Catherine addressed Churchmen of every rank, demanding of them the most exacting integrity in their personal lives and their pastoral ministry....strengthened by her intimacy with Christ, the Saint of Siena was not afraid to point out frankly even to the Pope, whom she loved dearly as her 'sweet Christ on earth', that the will of God demanded that he should abandon the hesitation born of earthly prudence and worldly interests, and return from Avignon to Rome, to the Tomb of Peter"
- "From 1305, Rome had been deprived of its spiritual and political Father....Gregory XI, who ruled from 1370 - 1378 was, in theory, the most unlikely of them all to be energetic and steadfast in his resolution to return to Rome. Elected Pope at only fory years of age, timorous and irritatingly indecisive by nature, he deserved Catherine's stern rebuke: 'Act like a man!'" (p. 57)
(Siena, September 2012)
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