Caterina di Cristo

Catalina of Christ was born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres (Spain) on October 28, 1544, to deeply Christian parents: Cristoforo and Giovanna de Bustamante y Sanmartín, of noble descent. Third of four children, she loved to pray from the time she was a child.

Of precocious intelligence, she asked her father and the governess for explanations on Christian doctrine, at the same time she was generous towards the poor, especially towards children. As a young girl, she visited the sick in the hospital and in their homes; inviting those of her own age to do the same for the homeless, she offered her home so that they could spend the night there. Together with her sister she helped the sick with courage and generosity during the plague that struck Madrigal in 1570.

A relative of Teresa of Jesus, when she was left alone after the death of her parents and brothers, she was welcomed in the monastery of Medina del Campo, where she took the habit on October 6, 1571; on 5^th of August 1573 she made her profession. Between Catalina and Teresa there was a deep knowledge and mutual support on the path of holiness. When Teresa appointed her prioress of the new monastery of Soria in 1581, speaking of her with the provincial, Fr. Girolamo Gracián, she said: «Catalina of Christ knows how to love God very much and is a very great saint and has a very lofty spirit, and does not need to know anything else in order to govern. She will be as good a prioress as any».

The last known letter of Saint Teresa is addressed precisely to Catherine. At the death of Teresa of Jesus (5 October 1582), Fr. Gracián asked Catalina of Christ to write down her inner experience and designated her to continue the work of St. Teresa of Jesus; it was she who opened the first Carmelite community in Pamplona, on 8^th of December 1583 and that of Barcelona (Catalonia), on 14^th of June 1588.

Already during her life, the Mother enjoyed a reputation of holiness for her virtues, especially humility and charity. Purified from suffering and esteemed by all, she died in Barcelona on January 3^rd, 1594, arousing the regret of those who had known her.

On March 20, 1993, the decree of validity was granted to the Diocesan Inquiry into her «Life, Virtue and Reputation for Holiness».