Among the great cycle of visions St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) received, one of the most physically dramatic was the 'exchange of hearts.' Praying long for the grace that her own heart might love as Christ's loved, she had a vision in which Christ appeared, opened her chest, removed her heart, and showed it to her. A few days later He appeared again, holding His own Sacred Heart, and replaced it within her — sealing the cavity afterward.
From that day, Catherine — when greeting Christ — would say simply: 'I have Your heart, Lord' — addressing Him not formally but as one who shared the same heart. The event is recorded by her confessor Bl. Raymond of Capua in the Legenda Maior. After her death in 1380, an examination of her preserved body reportedly found in the chest cavity not her own heart but a single great wound 'like the side wound of Christ.' The detached head is venerated at San Domenico, Siena; the body at Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome.