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Heritage Floor Tags > profession: Ascetic
Catherine of Siena
b. 1347, Siena, Italy; d. 1380, RomeThe letters of Catherine of Siena, more than 300 of which have survived, and her Treatise of Divine Providence (ca. 1370) are considered among the high points of early Tuscan... Read more
Clare of Assisi
b. 1194, Assisi, Italy; d. 1253, Assisi, ItalyThe daughter of Italian nobility, Clare rejected her parents' plans for marriage and fled to Assisi to join the Christian ascetic order founded by Saint Francis. She established the order... Read more
Luisa de Carvajal
b. 1566, Jaraicejo, Extremadura, Spain; d. 1614, LondonThe Catholic missionary Luisa de Carvajal was born into a noble Spanish family. Her childhood was traumatic. Orphaned at the age of six, she was placed in the care of... Read more
Douceline
b. circa 1215, Digne, France; d. 1275, Marseille, FranceDouceline, a religious mystic and Franciscan ascetic, founded the Beguines of Marseille, a religious order composed of women who lived like nuns and devoted their lives to the study of... Read more
Elizabeth of Schonau
b. 1126, Germany; d. 1164, Schönau, GermanySent to a Benedictine monastery in Schönau, Germany, to be educated, Elizabeth took vows in 1147 and ten years later became abbess. She began to have prophetic visions in 1152... Read more
Eustochium
b. circa 368, Rome; d. 419/420, BethlehemEustochium was a Roman noblewoman and virgin scholar who, with her mother Paula, traveled and studied under the guidance of Jerome, a Christian leader who translated the Bible into Latin... Read more
Fabiola
Flourished 4th century A.D., Rome; d. 399/400, RomeLike her contemporary Eustochium, the Roman noblewoman Fabiola turned to a life of asceticism under the guidance of Jerome, a Christian leader and translator of the Greek and Hebrew... Read more
Genevieve
b. circa 419, Nanterre, France; d. 512, ParisGeneviève lived a strictly regimented life devoted to charity in the name of God and Christianity. She was also a prophet and became the patron saint of Paris when she... Read more
Isabel of France
Date of birth unknown; d. 1270, Longchamps, FranceIsabel was born to King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. She refused to marry, despite offers that would place her in high political power, and instead... Read more
Lucy
b. A.D. 283, Sicily; d. 303, SicilyReputedly born into a noble and wealthy Roman family, Lucy died in the persecutions of Christians in the early fourth century A.D. According to largely apocryphal texts, she took a... Read more
Macrina
b. circa A.D. 330, Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey); d. circa 379, CappadociaMacrina, also known as Saint Macrina the Younger, was engaged at a young age but her fiancé died before the wedding. She thereafter took a vow of chastity, became an... Read more
Marcellina
b. circa 330/335, Rome; d. 398, MilanMarcellina, sister of Saint Ambrose, chose a life of chastity and asceticism, moving from Rome to Milan when her brother became bishop of that city. In 353, while still in... Read more
Margaret (Hildegarde of Bingen group)
b. 1242, Hungary; d. 1271, HungaryMargaret, the daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary, was placed in a convent at age three. Seven years later, she was transferred to the nunnery of the Blessed Virgin... Read more
Mechthild of Magdeburg
b. 1210, Germany; d. circa 1285, Helfta, GermanyMechthild's own writings are the only source of biographical information about her life. She began having visions at age twelve. In 1230, she left home for Magdeburg, where she joined... Read more
Olympia
b. 360/365, Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), date unknown; d. circa 410, Nicomedia (modern-day Izmit, Turkey)The correct spelling of this name is OLYMPIAS.
Born into a wealthy family of Constantinople and widowed at a young age, Olympias refused all offers of marriage and devoted... Read more
Paula
b. A.D. 347, Rome; d. 404, BethlehemBorn into a noble Roman family, Paula met Saint Jerome, a Christian leader who translated the Bible into Latin, after which she studied with him and followed his teachings, along... Read more
Scholastica
b. circa 480, Nurcia (Norcia), Italy; d. 543, near Monte Cassino, ItalyScholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict, the founder of Western monasticism, may have converted her brother to Christianity from paganism. She was a nun and the leader of an... Read more
Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum