Her father was Ulf Gudmarsson, Lord of Ulvåsa, and her mother was Saint Bridget of Sweden (known as Birgitta Birgersdotter of Finsta in her lifetime).

[3] At the age of twelve or thirteen she married Lord Eggert van Kyren, a religious young nobleman of German descent, whom she persuaded to take a vow of absolute chastity, and both lived in a state of virginity.

[3] Catherine took on the task of forming the community in the rule her mother had written and directing the Order of the Holy Savior, or Bridgettines.

In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII gave permission for Catherine's veneration as a saint and her feast was assigned to 22 March in the Roman Martyrology.

Catherine is generally represented with a hind (female red deer) at her side, which is said to have come to her aid "when unchaste youths sought to ensnare her".