Une folle de Dieu : sainte Catherine de Sienne ou la passion du sang du Christ

Abstract

The issue of “passion” or “passions”, which has been of great interest to philosophers, goes far beyond the definitions and clinical categories of classical psychiatric studies. Among the countless human passions (love, art, politics, science, crime, etc.), the extreme passion for God in Christianity, i.e. that of holiness, has always intrigued psychiatrists owing to the extraordinary nature of its psychological and physical manifestations. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) was one of the greatest Catholic mystics and her extraordinary life has given rise to various hagiographical and critical accounts. The author proposes his personal thoughts on this saint with regard to the following themes: her religious vocation so early in life; her holiness recognized by others; her refusal of food (severe anorexia nervosa); her passion for the blood of men and Christ; her mystical eroticism; her states of anguish and ecstasy; her complex private and social personality; the expressions of her holiness and her boundless love for God, and how they are related to mental disorders. The author concludes that he is unable to form a definitive opinion about the nature and cause of the extraordinary mystic phenomena that inhabited Catherine of Siena.