Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine

The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine (or "Mystic") covers two different subjects in Christian art arising from visions received by either Saint Catherine of Alexandria or Saint Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), in which these virgin saints went through a mystical marriage wedding ceremony with Christ, in the presence of the Virgin Mary, consecrating themselves and their virginity to him.

The Catholic Encyclopaedia notes that such a wedding ceremony "is but the accompaniment and symbol of a purely spiritual grace", and that "as a wife should share in the life of her husband, and as Christ suffered for the redemption of mankind, the mystical spouse enters into a more intimate participation in His sufferings." It is therefore not surprising that St. Catherine of Alexandria was martyred, while St. Catherine of Siena received the stigmata.

Both subjects are frequent subjects in Christian art; the scene usually includes one of the Saint Catherines and either the infant Jesus held by his mother or an adult Jesus. Very rarely both saints are shown in a double ceremony (as at right). Saint Catherine of Alexandria is invariably dressed as a princess with a crown, typically with long blonde hair and carrying a martyr's palm, and Saint Catherine of Siena as a Dominican nun in white with a black over-robe open at the front, so it is usually easy to tell which saint is depicted.