Catherine de Hueck Doherty (1896–1985) was born Ekaterina Kolyschkine into a wealthy, devout Russian Orthodox aristocratic family on August 15, 1896, in Nizhny Novgorod. Educated in Egypt and Russia, she later married her cousin Baron Boris de Hueck at age 15 and served as a nurse during World War I. With the turmoil of the 1917 Revolution, the couple fled through Finland to England, where in 1919 she converted to Catholicism . In 1921, they emigrated to Toronto, where Catherine supported her family through low-wage work and eventually became a sought-after speaker on Russia and communism.

In the early 1930s, moved by the Gospel command to “sell all you possess… take up your cross and follow Me,” Catherine gave away her possessions and, with episcopal approval, moved into Toronto’s slums to serve the poor. There she founded Friendship House, a lay apostolate and soup kitchen that expanded to Harlem and other U.S. cities, becoming a pioneering force in Catholic social justice and interracial ministry—even counting Thomas Merton among its volunteers.

After her first marriage ended in annulment, Catherine married journalist Eddie Doherty in 1943, and in 1947 they founded the Madonna House Apostolate in Combermere, Ontario. There, embracing a spirituality that “breathes with both lungs of the Church,” she blended Eastern Orthodox mysticism—most notably the concept of poustinia, or spiritual desert—with radical Gospel living. Madonna House grew into a vibrant international community, and Catherine authored over 25 books, including the spiritual classic Poustinia.