Alexandra was born in 1522 to the de Ricci family of Florence, Italy.  At the age of thirteen, she entered the Dominican Order and took the name Catherine.  Already at this age, Catherine had a deep love for the passion of Jesus Christ.  She received the marks of the passion in her body.

Catherine also had great compassion for the souls in purgatory and made sacrifices for them.  God permitted her to know that a certain man was in purgatory and she offered forty days of suffering for him.

Catherine died after a long and painful sickness at the age of 68 on February 2, 1590.   She was proclaimed a Saint by Pope Clement XII in 1747. 

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