St. Catherine de Ricci (1522-1590) was a religious of the Order of St. Dominic. This servant of God cherished so great a devotion towards the souls in Purgatory that at times God granted her request to suffer in their place the pains they had to endure in the other world. Driven by the same love that led her to pray for the deceased, St. Catherine also worked fervently for the salvation of sinners still alive on earth.

She knew of a prince (whose name was omitted from the story in consideration of his family) who was leading a worldly life. Catherine offered up many prayers, fasts, and penances to obtain the grace he needed to see the dangerous state of his soul. She begged that he would not be lost forever to hell. God heard her prayer; and the unfortunate prince, before his death, showed signs of a sincere conversion. He died in peace with God and went to Purgatory. Catherine learned this by Divine Revelation. Very grateful to God for His Mercy, she further begged for His Forgiveness by offering herself to satisfy the debt that was still owed to God because of the prince’s sins. Our Lord accepted her charitable exchange. He received the soul of the prince into Heaven and subjected Catherine to pains entirely strange to her for the space of forty days.

She was seized with a malady which the physicians declared was not natural and could neither be cured nor relieved. According to the testimony of eye witnesses, the body of the saint was covered with blisters filled with inflammation, like water boiling on the fire. This caused such an intense heat that her cell was like an oven, and seemed filled with fire. It was impossible to remain there for a few moments without needing to going outside to breathe.

It was evident that the flesh of the patient was boiling and her tongue resembled a piece of red-hot metal. At times the inflammation would cease, and then her flesh appeared roasted. Soon, though, the blisters arose again and produced the same heat.

Nevertheless, in the midst of this torture the Saint did not lose the serenity of her countenance nor the peace of her soul. She seemed to rejoice in her torments. Her sufferings sometimes increased to such a degree that she lost her speech for ten or twelve minutes. When her fellow religious told her that she seemed to be on fire, she replied simply, "Yes," without adding anything more.

When they suggested to her that she carried her zeal too far and that she ought not to ask of God such excessive suffering, she told them, "Pardon me, my dear sisters, if I answer you. Jesus has so much Love for souls, that all we do for their salvation is infinitely pleasing to Him. That is why I gladly endure any pain, whatever it may be, for the conversion of sinners as well as for the deliverance of the souls detained in Purgatory."

When the forty days finished, Catherine returned to her normal state. The pains and the illness vanished. The relatives of the prince asked the extraordinary Saint where the soul of their dear one might be.

"Have no fear," she reassured them, "his soul is in the enjoyment of eternal glory." It was in this way that they discovered that it was for his soul that she had suffered so much.

Her example teaches us many things, but the greatest shown is that sufferings, even frightful ones, are not contrary to still possessing interior peace. Catherine, while visibly enduring the pains of Purgatory itself, enjoyed an incredible peace and a superhuman contentment, obtained by God’s grace but still heroically endured, as she suffered for the sake of another person - a soul loved by God.