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Sister act

Sister Nancy Murray, Dominican nun and sister of actor Bill Murray, will bring the story of St. Catherine of Siena to life in parishes throughout the diocese.

FLORIDA CATHOLIC STAFF REPORT

Published: 02.08.08

Dominican Sister Nancy Murray, sister of actor Bill Murray, performs a one–woman production about St. Catherine of Siena. Sister Murray will perform Feb. 14 at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, Feb. 15 at St. Thomas More Parish in Sarasota, and Feb. 16-17 at St. Catherine Parish in Sebring.
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Performances

Thursday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m.
Epiphany Cathedral Parish
350 Tampa Ave. W., Venice
Contact: Dominican Sister Christa Cunningham
941-484-3582

Friday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m.
St. Thomas More Parish
2506 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota
Contact: Dominican Sister Gloria Hillman, 941-924-8045

Saturday, Feb. 16, after 5 p.m. Mass (performance in English)
Sunday, Feb. 17, after noon Mass (performance in Spanish)
St. Catherine Parish
820 Hickory St., Sebring
Contact: Carol Ushka,
863-385-8301

Tickets for performances are $10 each. For more information about Dominican Sister Nancy Murray, visit www.nancymurrayop.org.

The life of St. Catherine of Siena, one of the sharpest theological minds of the 14th century, will be dramatically portrayed in the diocese by Dominican Sister Nancy Murray Feb. 14-17.

Sister Murray, whose brother is actor Bill Murray, performs a one-woman show about St. Catherine of Siena that enchants, informs and inspires.

The St. Joseph Chapter of the Dominican Laity, in celebration of its 20th anniversary in the Diocese of Venice, is sponsoring the performances, which will be at Epiphany Cathedral Parish in Venice on Thursday, Feb. 14, St. Thomas More Parish in Sarasota on Friday, Feb. 15, and St. Catherine Parish in Sebring the weekend of Feb. 16-17.

Catherine was born in Italy in 1347. As a child, she had a mystical experience in which she saw Jesus, St. Peter, St. Paul and St. John the Evangelist. Catherine decided to live her life for God as a consecrated virgin. From the age of 21 until her death at 33, she did charitable work for the sick and poor and followed the Third Order Rule of St. Dominic. She had other mystical experiences in her life and later received the stigmata.

Catherine is credited with convincing the pope to leave France and return to Rome in the late 1300s. She may be best remembered for “The Dialogues,” a collection of conversations she shared with God, as well as letters of wisdom she dictated for many people — including popes, princes, and religious men and women. Her writings are considered among the most brilliant in the church’s history.

Catherine was canonized in 1461. She was declared a doctor of the church in 1970. The title is given to select writers “whose tremendous erudition and insight have been of fundamental importance in the development of church learning,” according to Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia.

Sister Murray has presented the life of St. Catherine of Siena across the country, as well as in Rome, Trinidad, Australia, Scotland, South America, Asia and at World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, in 2005. She majored in drama at Barry University in Miami and earned a master’s degree in pastoral studies from Loyola University in Chicago. Sister Murray entered the Dominican order in Adrian, Mich., in 1966. She shares the life of St. Catherine of Siena to bring the saint’s message of hope, encouragement and love of God and neighbor to faithful across the world.

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