Tweet Siena: Saint Catherine of Siena; Ongoing Eucharistic Miracle About 70 km south of Florence, in central Italy’s Tuscany region, lies Siena, one of the country’s most visited medieval cities. It is easily accessible by bus and train (from Florence as well as Rome and other Italian cities). SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA   Siena, famous for being the birthplace of the 14th century mystic Caterina Benincasa, or Saint Catherine of Siena, is also one of a dozen or so places where one can, to this day, see a continuous Eucharistic miracle. To learn more about the life, mystical gifts, visions and miracles of St. Catherine of Siena, as well as her role in bringing to end the Great Western Schism, have a look at this wonderful article: catholicism.org/saint-catherine-of-siena.html. There are a number of places in Siena connected to the saint. Home-Sanctuary of St. Catherine (Via Costa di Sant’Antonio 6; daily 9:30am-7pm; Church of the Crucifix daily 9:30am-12:30pm/3pm-7pm; www.enjoysiena.it/it/attrattore/Casa-Santuario-di-Santa-Caterina-da-Siena) The Benincasa family home, where Catherine (one of 25 children) was born and raised, was converted into a sanctuary not long after her death. Part of the sanctuary is the church of the Sacred Crucifix, built in the 16th century in the place of the former garden to house the miraculous crucifix from which St. Catherine received the stigmata in 1375. Visitors can view numerous paintings related to the saint’s life as well as the cell where she slept, the stone she used for a pillow, and several other objects she used during her life. Various rooms of the original Benincasa house have been converted into small oratories.                         Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico (Piazza San Domenico 1; March-October: daily 7am-6:30pm, November-February: 9am-6pm; www.basilicacateriniana.com/index_en.html)  The Basilica of St. Dominic is an imposing Dominican Order church dating back to the 13th century. (St. Catherine herself was a Dominican tertiary.) The basilica houses her relics – most notably her incorrupt head and right thumb, as well as artworks depicting her life. St. Catherine died in Rome in 1380, at the age of 33. When her body was – after reports of numerous miracles – transferred from the cemetery to the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Blessed Raymond of Capua, St. Catherine’s spiritual director and Master General of the Dominican Order, with permission of Pope Urban VI, separated the head from the body so that the head … Continue reading Siena: Home of St. Catherine of Siena and an Ongoing Eucharistic Miracle