St. Catherine of Vadstena

Catherine of Vadstena belongs to one of the great saintly families of the Middle Ages, yet her life does not let inherited holiness do the work for her. Daughter of St. Bridget, married and then widowed, Catherine is shown passing through long years of service, continence, patience, and interior firmness. Her life is bound closely to her mother's Roman mission, which means she learns sanctity not in comfort but in travel, pressure, and public uncertainty. After Bridget's death the weight shifts.

Catherine must guard the spiritual inheritance she has received, resist unwanted proposals and distractions, and help secure the Bridgettine life for the future. Her sanctity is therefore quiet but not passive. She speaks charitably, endures steadily, and carries responsibility without self-advertisement. The whole life is attractive because nothing in it is flashy, yet everything in it is faithful.