A new book can help children learn more about one of the most revered saints in the Catholic Church, written by one of the Diocese of Harrisburg’s own priests. The recently released title is “Stories of Saint Catherine of Siena for Children,” by Father Sylvan Capitani.
Father Capitani said he has long held a devotion to St. Catherine of Siena, one of the Doctors of the Church. “She reminds me of my mother,” he told The Witness.
“I knew a lot about Catherine, so I thought I could do it. So, that’s why I wrote the book, and I want her to be known and loved throughout. I don’t think people know her enough, so I was hoping to start that with children and maybe grandparents will read it to them, maybe parents will. I thought that might be a good way to get the story of her fascinating life out to other people.”
Born in the Republic of Siena, which is now modern-day Tuscany in Italy, Catherine devoted herself to God from a very young age. “She had a vision at six years old of the Lord Jesus over her parish church of St. Dominic’s in Siena and along with the Lord were the apostles John, Peter and Paul. The Lord was wearing a crown that resembled the pope’s crown,” Father Capitani explained. “She’s only six years old and she was so taken by that vision that she dedicated her life to the Lord there and then.”
Her parents originally didn’t support her goal to remain unmarried and dedicate her life to God, but eventually changed their minds, even arranging a special room where she could spend time in prayer and meditation.
“Most of her teenage years were spent there in that room, and it was there that she became extremely devoted and loving of the Lord,” he said. “So, her desire to be attached to the Lord and give her life to Him continued to grow, especially in that room. And then later on, she was so much known in Siena for her holiness that the Lord appeared to her right after Mardi Gras one night and told her to leave the room. She said, ‘I don’t want to leave the room because I love it here with you.’ And he repeated it. He said, ‘Catherine, I want you to leave this room and I want you to do my work of caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked. I want you to do that in Siena.’ She understood and she went out in Siena and became really well-known.”
Catherine spent her life in service to God and was venerated quickly after her death in 1380; in 1970, she was declared a Doctor of the Church, someone who is said to have made significant contributions to Theology through research, study or writing.
For Father Capitani, his time as a pastor helped him turn Catherine of Siena’s life into a book children can understand.
“When I was a pastor at St. John the Baptist in New Freedom and other places too, but more at St. John’s, a lot of my homilies were based on St. Catherine. And I’ve read a lot about her,” he said. “I picked the stories that I liked the best, and that I thought the children would like the best.”
The book is currently for sale on Amazon. It is also being offered to parishes and organizations, at a discounted price, for their own fundraising efforts. All profits from a fundraiser at St. John the Baptist School in New Freedom were given to the Father Sylvan Capitani Scholarship Fund.
To arrange a fundraiser or obtain copies of the book, e-mail capbook4u@gmail.com.
(Casandra Chesser is a freelance reporter for The Catholic Witness.)
By Casandra Chesser, The Catholic Witness
