St. Catherine of Genoa
Catherine was born in Genoa, Italy in 1447, the the fifth and youngest child of James Fieschi and his wife Francesca di Negro, members a noble family, which had produced two popes (Innocent IV and Adrian V). At the age of 13 Catherine tried to became a cloistered nun, but failed because she was too young. Then her father died and her widowed mother insisted that she marry into nobility. At age 16, she married Guiliano Adorno. Her husband had a violent termper, was unfaithful, and selfish. For the first five years of their marriage, Catherine suffered in silence. Later, she tried to be more cosmopolitan to attract him, but this only made her unhappy. One day, taking her sister's advice, she went to Confession and became aware of her sins and how much God loved her. She served as an excellent example for her husband, who eventually turned away from his life of sin and selfishness. He was converted and became a Franciscan tertiary. The two then lived chastely for the rest of their ...