Caterina de’ Pazzi—who took the name Mary Magdalene when she entered religious life—was a Carmelite nun at the convent of Saint Mary of the Angels in Florence, where she died on May 25, 1604. She left, through dictation, a record of her mystical experiences, which made her widely known. Her personal motto was: “Pati, non mori”—“To suffer, not to die.”
Although she lived an intensely interior life, she did not ignore the social realities of her time. She wrote letters to the pope, cardinals, and bishops, though her superiors never allowed these writings to reach their destinations.
She was canonized in 1669. For centuries, her feast was displaced by the nearby celebrations of Saints Gregory VII and Bede (on May 27 and 29). Today, the liturgical calendar restores her memorial to the anniversary of her death.
