Catherine of Siena and Her Circle of Female Penitents

FAIN: FEL-262342-19

Mary Harvey Doyno
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento, CA 95819-2694)

Research and writing a history of the lay religious community centered on St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380).

Catherine of Siena’s reputation as mystic, prophet, and papal advisor is well established. Less known is her membership in a community of female lay penitents. Catherine’s Daughters will offer a history of Catherine’s community and consider the influence such communities had on the creation of a Dominican institutional identity. Between 1400 and 1418, the Dominican friar Thomas Caffarini produced a dizzying amount of text that aimed both to earn Catherine’s canonization and to minimize her connection to her fellow penitents. By returning Catherine to her full religious context, this project explores how Dominican attitudes toward female lay penitents shaped the building of their order.

Associated Products

Legislating Female Religious in Fifteenth-Century Rome (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Legislating Female Religious in Fifteenth-Century Rome
Author: Mary Harvey Doyno
Abstract: In a 1433 bull issued to the Oblates of Tor de’Specchi, the community of secular religious women founded by Francesca Romana, Pope Eugenius IV approved these women’s dedication to charity, their intense penitential commitment, and their desire to live together communally. However, he stopped short of awarding their way of life a precise canonical status. While this bull has been seen as a critical part of the establishment of Francesca Romana’s community, its role in the papacy’s centuries long efforts to corral, contain, and control the great variety of religious vocations taken up by secular Roman women has not been considered. This paper will explore Eugenius’ efforts on behalf of the Oblates in conjunction with other fifteenth-century papal legislation to understand the origins and significance of the curia’s interest in establishing the confines of a proper female religious life outside of the convent.
Date: 11/18/2021
Conference Name: Early Modern Rome 4

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