Cinta da lupi a divorla intenti.
Ecco tutti gli onor d’Italia spenti,
Poiché fa altrove il gran Pastore soggiorno.”[108]
Catharine’s return to Siena was celebrated by festive songs:
“Thou didst go up to the great temple,
Thou didst enter the mighty consistory;
The words of thy mouth were full of power;
Pope and cardinals were persuaded to depart.
Thou didst direct the course of their wings towards the See of Peter. O virgin of Siena! how great is thy praise—soul prompt in movement, energetic in action.”
On the tomb of Gregory XI., in the church of St. Francesca at Rome, St. Catharine is represented walking before the pope’s mule as he makes his triumphal entrance into the city—a symbol of her guiding influence. From this time she took a prominent part in all the affairs of Italy. But the re-establishment of the papal throne at Rome was her last joy on earth. At the death of Pope Gregory fresh disorders broke out. Catharine’s life slowly wasted away, inwardly consumed, as she declared, for the church. She died in Rome at the age of thirty-three, and lies buried