Catharina Brugora
Feast: 19 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Catherine was born in Milan in 1489, daughter of the Lords of Pelucca. From childhood she was gifted with mystical favours, and though she loved the painter Bernardino Luini, her parents made her become a nun; she entered the Benedictine monastery of St Margaret in Milan, where she became known for her holiness, the gift of prophecy, and wise counsel, so that Milanese people turned to her for help in both public and private troubles.
The Lord gave her the visible marks of the five wounds and the crown of thorns, which brought her spiritual comfort but also great suffering. She died on 19 September 1529, and devotion to her grew after her death; in 1612 her body was found incorrupt when it was examined. A painting from the school of Bernardino Luini in the Milan church of St Simpliciano shows her with these symbols of her life, including the rescue of the knight Giambattista Pusterla through her intercession. She is also remembered in the Benedictine Order on 18 November, the date her relics were translated.
The miracles
The Church has not yet approved a miracle in this cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
Milanese Benedictine nun venerated for holiness, prophecy and the marks of Christ's Passion; her body was found incorrupt in 1612.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
- Santi, beati e testimoni (santiebeati.it) - Venerabile Caterina Brugora, by Antonio Borrelli
- Wikidata Q115683688 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.