This website replaces my plan to write a book that would unlock to spiritual seekers and spiritual guides the depth of wisdom offered by Catherine of Siena. I share here what I have learned as a scholar about this remarkable woman. 

I have studied Catherine of Siena’s spirituality since I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation on a comparison of discernment according to Catherine and Ignatius of Loyola and have continued to do research and to write about her.

I write for the spiritual seeker and for spiritual guides and pastors, as I am convinced that Catherine’s wisdom can help the spiritual seeker today.   

As well, students of Catherine’s spirituality will benefit from this summary of her life and teachings, together with the historical and textual context included here.  Students of medieval women mystics, and scholars may also find material of interest.

Diana L. Villegas, Ph.D.

• Studied spirituality at the Institute of Spirituality of the Gregorian University, Rome.
• Obtained a Ph.D. in theology, specializing in history of spirituality, from Fordham University, NY.
  • Her Ph.D. dissertation compared discernment in Catherine of Siena and Ignatius of Loyola
  • Suzanne Noffke, scholar of Catherine and English translator of her works, was Diana’s dissertation mentor on Catherine.
• She was trained in offering the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola and has over 30 years of experience in spiritual direction and offering retreats.
• Worked for a number of years as a licensed psychotherapist offering psychotherapy and pastoral counseling. Licensed as a Clinical Social Worker, she specialized in the integration of spirituality and psychotherapy.
• She is currently working on research and writing in spirituality.
• She speaks Italian and has read all of Catherine of Siena’s works in their original 14th century Italian.

Interview re my participation in the Society for the Study of Spirituality (SSCS) and why and how I study Catherine

In this episode of the „5 Questions with…“ series from the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality (SSCS), Matthew Wickman (Brigham Young University) talks with Diana L. Villegas about her decades of scholarship on Catherine of Siena, her long-standing work with the SSCS, and her years chairing the Society’s International Relations Committee. Diana shares what first drew her to Catherine — not the mystic, but the uneducated medieval girl who became a prophetic voice to popes and kings — and reflects on what this 14th-century saint can still teach us today about humility, discernment, and the need for wise community.