Lentorama 2006 Saint of the Day: Catherine of Bologna

The daughter of a diplomatic agent of the Marquis of Ferarra, Catherine was raised with the Marquis's daughter but at the age of 14 opted for the relgious life rather than life at court, with all the comforts that 15th century nobility suggests.

Her life was the usual (for a saint) example of piety and austerity, up to her death on this day in 1463.

Now her story gets interesting. A couple of weeks after she was buried (without a coffin, for some reason), Catherine was dug up based on cures attributed to her and a sweet odor coming from her grave. Upon exhumation, it was found that Catherine's body was incorrupt, and is apparently so to this day.

For those of you interested in what a 500+ year old incorrupt body looks like, there's a picture here. Remember, incorrupt doesn't mean she's not changed at all.

On a related note, I think today is the first time since I started this that I would not have been able to choose a Welsh saint. I never realized how thick on the ground saints were there, as I've always associated Wales with Britain and its church. So much for reading all those Brother Cadfael mysteries.