St Angela Merici was born on March 21 1474 in Desenzano del Garda, Province of Brescia, Venice, Italy.
She was an Italian Catholic religious educator who founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535 in Brescia, in which women dedicated their lives to the service of the church through the education of girls.
She died on January 27 1540 in Brescia, Venice, Italy. We celebrate her feast day on January 27 every year in the Catholic Church.
St Angela Merici is the Patron Saint of
- Sickness
- Handicapped people
- Loss of parents
| St Angela Merici, Virgin Biography | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Date of Birth | March 21 1474 |
| Place of Birth | Italy in Europe |
| Profession | Founder of Company of St. Ursula |
| Place of Work | Brescia, Venice in Italy |
| Date of Death | January 27 1540 (aged 65) |
| Place of Death | Brescia, Venice |
| Feast Day | January 27 |
| Beatification | By Pope Clement XIII on April 30 1768 in Rome, Papal States |
| Canonization | By Pope Pius VII on May 24 1807 in Rome, Papal States |
| Patron Saint of |
|
Saint Angela Merici Life History
Foundress of the Ursulines, born on March 21 1474, at Desenzano, a small town on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy; died January 27 1540, at Brescia.
She was left an orphan at the age of ten and together with her elder sister came to the home of her uncle in the neighbouring town of Salo where they led an angelic life.
When her sister met with a sudden death, without being able to receive the last sacraments, young Angela was very distressed.
She became a tertiary of St. Francis and greatly increased her prayers and mortifications for the repose of her sister’s soul.
In her anguish and pious simplicity, she prayed to God to reveal to her the condition of her deceased sister.
It is said that by a vision she was satisfied her sister was in the company of the saints in heaven.
When she was twenty years old, her uncle died, and she returned to her paternal home at Desenzano.
Convinced that the great need of her times was a better instruction of young girls in the rudiments of the Christian religion, she converted her home into a school where at stated intervals she daily gathered all the little girls of Desenzano and taught them the elements of Christianity.
It is related that one day, while in ecstasy, she had a vision in which it was revealed to her that she was to found an association of virgins who were to devote their lives to the religious training of young girls.
The school she had established at Desenzano soon bore abundant fruit, and she was invited to the neighbouring city, Brescia, to establish a similar school at that place. Angela gladly accepted the invitation.
In 1524, while making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she became suddenly blind when she was on the island of Crete, but continued her journey to the Holy Places and was cured on her return while praying before a crucifix at the same place where she was struck with blindness a few weeks before.
When, in the jubilee year 1525, she had come to Rome to gain indulgences, Pope Clement VII, who had heard of her great holiness and her extraordinary success as a religious teacher of young girls, invited her to remain in Rome; but Angela, who shunned publicity, returned to Brescia.
Finally, on November 25, 1535, Angela chose twelve virgins and laid the foundation of the order of the Ursulines in a small house near the Church of St. Afra in Brescia. Having been five years superior of the newly-founded order, she died.
Today’s St Angela Merici Quote
Her body lies buried in the Church of St. Afra at Brescia.
Powered By SEO Experts
Follow @ReadingCatholic
