Named co-patron saint of Italy

On 18 July 1939, Pope Pius XII proclaimed Catherine of Siena, together with Saint Francis of Assisi, as co-patron saints of Italy. This designation came at a pivotal and anxious moment in European history, on the eve of the Second World War, and reflected a deliberate effort to invoke powerful spiritual intercessors for the Italian nation.

The pairing of Catherine, a woman celebrated for her fierce advocacy for Church unity and her direct, uncompromising engagement with popes and civic leaders, with Francis, the beloved founder of the Franciscan order, symbolized complementary aspects of Italian spirituality: Catherine's active, reforming zeal and Francis's humble, contemplative simplicity.

For a laywoman of the fourteenth century, being named alongside one of the most universally beloved saints in Christian history as a patron of an entire modern nation-state was an extraordinary elevation. It affirmed her enduring relevance not merely as a historical mystic but as a living symbol of Italian Catholic identity in the twentieth century.

This patronage further cemented Catherine's place within both religious and national consciousness, reinforcing her image as a fiercely independent, courageous woman whose legacy transcended her own era to speak to modern concerns about unity, integrity, and moral courage in public life.