BALDASSARE of Saint Catherine of Siena. — Discalced Carmelite mystical theologian, born Machiaveli, in Bologna in 1597, died there on 23 Aug. 1673. He took the habit in Bologna and professed at Santa Maria della Scala in Rome on 6 Dec. 1615. He held various offices, up to that of procurator general of the Order (1662).
An extremely learned theologian, he is one of the most representative authors of the Carmelite mystical school for his unsurpassed synthesis on the states of contemplation (the seven “Mansions”): *Splendori riflessi di Sapienza celeste vibrati da gloriosi gerarchi Tomaso d'Aquino e Teresa di Gesù, sopra il Castello Interiore e Mistico Giardino, metafore della Santa* (Bologna 1671). In Rome (1664) he published the Italian translation of vol. I of Quiroga’s recent work, *Salita dell'anima a Dio*.