Monday 29 April was the Feast of St Catherine of Siena, and on this day each year pilgrims to the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva may enter the area where her tomb lies under the main altar.

I made my own visit, which this year I felt had a special poignancy, given the discussions currently swirling in Rome about the role of women in the Church.

More than 600 years ago St Catherine, now a Doctor of the Church, helped return the papacy to Rome from Avignon as well as speaking out boldly for Church reform. A clear-sighted mystic and prolific and trenchant letter writer, she carried out a vital and visible public ministry. In the Vatican, where men hold the vast majority of positions, the uncompromising spirit of St Catherine is sorely needed if the push is to continue, to give women greater visibility and more senior leadership roles.