Catherine of Siena was in her own time and place reputed to be
a genuinely holy woman. Precisely because of this her voice was
heard where few women's voices would have gained an audience
in the fourteenth century. Because she was also the first woman
to write and be published in any of the emerging Italian dialects,
she provides an early feminine perspective on and interpretation
of the events, culture, and spirituality of her era-like ours an era
of crisis and transition for church and society. This is the woman
whose vision and voice this book evokes in view of feeding our
own twentieth-century insight and speaking. The essays in Part
One study various aspects of Catherine's vision in her theology
and spirituality. Part Two offers resources for further exploration
of Catherine's person and thought, of her world, and of what
others have written of her in English, including an extensive
annotated bibliography of works in English up to the date of the
original publication of this book in 1996.