True Blood: Corporeality and Blood Piety in the Letters of Catherine of Siena

Abstract

Catherine of Siena shows a particular penchant for Christ's blood piety, and her Letters reveal how many images connected to an experiential imitation of Christ's Passion are at the base of her mysticism. The present article discusses Catherine of Siena's use of Pauline anthropology of renewal in the body and argues that Catherine's particular devotional experience and affective mysticism are centered on Christ's blood and embodiment. Through her theological reuse of imitatio Christi in a selection of her Letters, the article posits that Catherine connects her imitational mysticism to a Pauline exigency of renewal within and without the body.