St. Angela Merici
Born: March 21, 1474
Died: January 27, 1540
Feast day: January 27
Patron saint of: sickness, disability, those grieving the loss of parents
In early young adulthood, Angela Merici joined the Third Order of Saint Francis as a consecrated virgin. When a family crisis called her back to her hometown, Angela discovered that there were many uneducated young women who she imagined could be engaged more intentionally. She began to teach them herself, both educating and evangelizing them. She believed that family life could be deepened through the education of women, since they were the backbone of families. Angela then began to establish these institutions of education throughout her area of Italy, organizing the consecrated women who taught as the foundation of a religious order, which would become the Ursulines. For women of faith, St. Angela Merici can be a model of hope that to empower women empowers the world; the Christian heart of families and the growth of disciples can all be traced back to well-educated, well-formed, and well-cared for women. She reminds us as a Church to be attentive to all people, of every status and age, in growing their faith.
Image: Benoit Lhoest, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
