PIOUS PIONEERS

Although men still called the shots, women played an active and important role in the development of the medieval church

- SPENCER MIZEN

Catherine of Siena clearly wasn't a fan of the easy life. The Italian mystic and author could have rested on her laurels in her home town in Tuscany, where she had gained a reputation for her dedication to the sick and poor, and her ecstatic visions. Instead, she decided to embark on a mission to save the Catholic Church and bring peace to Italy.

And so, in the mid-1370s, Catherine set out to foster peace within the church, and encourage Pope Gregory XI to quit Avignon (which had been the seat of popes since 1309) and return to the papacy's traditional home in Rome. Shortly after, Gregory entrusted Catherine with the thorny task of negotiating a peace with the rebellious city of Florence.

FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Pope Urban VI, who succeeded Gregory to the papacy in 1378, was equally reliant on Catherine's talents. She sent out numerous letters to princes and cardinals on his behalf, calling on obedience to his new administration, and played a leading role in his efforts to reorganise the church.

Catherine didn't succeed in all her endeavours, yet few doubt the massive impact she had on Catholicism in the late 14th century. That impact is reflected in the fact that, since her death in 1380, she has been canonised, declared a doctor of the church, and made a patron saint of Europe. It's an impressive roll-call of honours. And it's one that's made all the more remarkable by the fact that Catherine of Siena was a woman.

Ever since an ancient scribe opined that, having eaten the forbidden fruit, Eve was responsible for man's expulsion from paradise, women have had a complicated relationship with the church. For centuries, the authorities promulgated the belief that women were inferior to men; that they were morally weaker and prone to lure humanity from the path of God's teachings.