Children are a blessing! Out of William and Catherine Booth’s eight children, their third child and first daughter, Catherine, was affectionately known as Katie.

Catherine (Katie) was born in Gateshead, England in 1858 when her father was serving as a Methodist minister. Katie was only five years old when her parents founded the East London Christian Mission in early 1865, which later became The Salvation Army in 1878.

At an early age, Katie committed her life to Christ. By the age of 15, she was preaching. In 1876, Katie shared the platform with her father at the East London Christian Mission’s annual conference.  

In March 1881, 22-year-old Captain Katie Booth was appointed by her father to open The Salvation Army’s work in France. Wearing sandwich boards, the triumvirate preached the Gospel boldly in the streets of Paris. It was here that Catherine was given her nickname “La Maréchale,” which is the French feminine form of “The Marshall.”

In Paris, Katie and her assistants faced increasingly fierce opposition. Their street-corner sermons were regularly interrupted by the crowd assaulting them with large fruit, mud and stones. Men in the crowd would routinely try to strangle them by their bonnet strings, forcing the ladies to pin the strings on their bonnets rather than sowing them on. They lived in rented apartments in extremely poor conditions.

When she was 28 years old, Catherine married Arthur Clibborn. The wedding was a celebration fit for a first daughter! It was reported that 6,000 were in attendance! Catherine and Arthur legally changed their surname to Booth-Clibborn. All three Booth daughters (daughters of William and Catherine Booth)  hyphenated their names to begin with Booth. 

Katie Booth-Clibborn lived longer than any of her siblings. On May 9, 1955, Katie passed away from double pneumonia at age 96. She lived a long, happy life.

Part of any growth process is the need to learn through experience. These experiences are often painful, hurtful and difficult. Catherine’s growth was undergirded by one crucial principle of life—  pleasing God remained her lifelong ambition. 

So What?

How are you pleasing God in your daily life? Is your life’s purpose to walk faithfully, humbly and obediently with God?