Originally published at National Catholic Register
This is the story of a woman who, in the midst of unimaginable suffering, persevered in her Catholic faith.
Catherine Wolfe Donohue’s suffering began in her childhood. She was born in Ottawa, Illinois, in 1903. When Catherine was about 6 years old, her mother died. A few years later, her father also died, and Catherine went to live with her aunt and uncle. When Catherine was 14, her older brother passed away.
This would be a heavy cross for anyone to carry: to lose three close family members in the first 14 years of life. But Catherine’s story was just beginning.
After graduating from high school, Catherine got a job painting the numbers on watch faces. The watches that Catherine and her co-workers painted had glow-in-the-dark numbers, a feature made possible by the discovery of radium, the new wonder element.
The health benefits of this amazing element were touted everywhere. Radium tonics were popular among the wealthy; the girls who worked at the Radium Dial Company plant were told that the radium they worked with would “put roses on their cheeks.” So Catherine and the other women didn’t worry when they were taught to point the bristles of their paintbrushes
