Catherine of Bologna [Caterina de' Vigri] (8 September 1413 – 9 March 1463)[2][3] was an Italian Poor Clare, writer, teacher, mystic, artist, and saint.

The patron saint of artists and against temptations, Catherine de' Vigri was venerated for nearly three centuries in her native Bologna before being formally canonized in 1712 by Pope Clement XI.

Catherine came from an upper-class family, the daughter of Benvenuta Mammolini of Bologna and Giovanni Vigri, a Ferrarese notary who worked for Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara.

[5] In 1426, after Niccolo III's execution of Parisina d'Este for infidelity, Catherine left court and joined a lay community of beguines living a semi-religious life and following the Augustinian rule.

She was a model of piety and reported experiencing miracles and several visions of Christ, the Virgin Mary, Thomas Becket, and Joseph, as well as future events, such as the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Although she probably taught similar ideas, she kept the written version hidden until she neared death and then handed it to her confessor with instructions to send a copy to the Poor Clares at Ferrara.

In addition, she wrote lauds, short religious treatises, and letters,[10] as well as a 5000-line Latin poem called the Rosarium Metricum,[11] the I Dodici Giardini and I Sermoni.

We are now in a position to meditate on a veritable monument of theology which, after the Treatise on the Seven Spiritual Weapons, is made up of distinct and autonomous parts: The Twelve Gardens, a mystical work of her youth, Rosarium, a Latin poem on the life of Jesus, and The Sermons, copies of Catherine's words to her religious sisters."

[13] She meditated while she copied the scriptural text, adding about 1000 prayer rubrics, and drew initials with bust-portraits of saints, paying special attention to images of Clare and Francis.