St. Catherine enjoyed enormous popularity in the middle ages. This is an ancient feast, found in the breviary of Saint Clare on this date. Clare’s sister, who received the name of Agnes as a Poor Clare (see November 19th), was baptized Catherine. On this day in 1894, Elizabeth McCarthy of Omaha ran away from home to join the Poor Clares in that city. She had repeated dreams in which nuns in procession would go by, two-by-two, chanting as they went. One day, she had a delivery to make and she heard the nuns go by the parlor, and she recognized the voices of her dreams. She spoke to the abbess, and arrangements were made to join the monastery; but her mother was very much against it. One day she managed to elude her family and run to the monastery. Her family called the police – and after a huge scene – she was allowed to stay since she was twenty-two years old. Elizabeth became Sister Mary Eustochium, and lived many years as a Poor Clare.