Catherine of Genoa (1447–1510), a married lay woman, was a mystic and a humanitarian, and a constant contemplative who cared for the sick and destitute. Purgation and Purgatory is a collection of sayings on spiritual purification in this life and the next. The Spiritual Dialogue gives readers an easily grasped and coherent inner history of Catherine. These powerful expressions of her spiritual inner-life still impact readers today.