Monica ( – 387) was an early North African
Christian saint and the mother of
Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding
Christian virtues, particularly the suffering caused by her husband's
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
, and her prayerful life dedicated to the reformation of her son, who wrote extensively of her pious acts and life with her in his ''
Confessions''. Popular Christian legends recall Monica
weeping every night for her son Augustine.
Life
Monica is assumed to have been born in
Thagaste
Thagaste (or Tagaste) was a Roman-Berber city in present-day Algeria, now called Souk Ahras. The town was the birthplace of Saint Augustine.
History
Thagaste was originally a small Numidian village, inhabited by a Berber tribe into which Augustin ...
(present-day
Souk Ahras
Souk Ahras (Berber: ''Tagast''; ancient name: ''Thagast''; ar, سوق أهراس) is a municipality in Algeria. It is the capital of Souk Ahras Province. The Numidian city of Thagaste (or Tagaste), on whose ruins Souk Ahras was built, was the bi ...
,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
). She is believed to have been a Berber on the basis of her name. She was married early in life to Patricius, a Roman pagan, who held an official position in Thagaste. Patricius had a violent temper and appears to have been of dissolute habits; apparently his mother was the same way. Monica's
almsgiving
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread practice in a numbe ...
, deeds and prayer habits annoyed Patricius, but it is said that he always held her in respect.
Monica had three children who survived infancy: two sons, Augustine and Navigius, and a daughter,
'Perpetua' of Hippo. Unable to secure baptism for them, she grieved heavily when Augustine fell ill. In her distress she asked Patricius to allow Augustine to be baptized; he agreed, then withdrew this consent when the boy recovered.
But Monica's relief at Augustine's recovery turned to anxiety as he misspent his renewed life being wayward and, as he himself says, lazy. He was finally sent to school at
Madauros
Madauros (''Madaurus'', ''Madaura'') was a Roman-Berber city and a former diocese of the Catholic Church in the old state of Numidia, in present-day Algeria.
History
The birth of the city dates back to the 5th century BC under the aegis of the ...
. He was 17 and studying rhetoric in
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
when Patricius died.
Augustine had become a
Manichaean at Carthage. When, upon his return home, he shared his views regarding Manichaeism, Monica drove him away from her table. However, she is said to have experienced a vision that convinced her to reconcile with him.
At this time she visited a certain (unnamed) bishop who consoled her with the words, "the child of those tears shall never perish." Monica followed her wayward son to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, where he had gone secretly; when she arrived he had already gone to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, but she followed him. Here she found
Ambrose and through him she ultimately saw Augustine convert to Christianity after 17 years of resistance.
In his book ''Confessions'', Augustine wrote of a peculiar practice of his mother in which she "brought to certain oratories, erected in the memory of the saints, offerings of porridge, bread, water and wine." When she moved to Milan, the bishop Ambrose forbade her to use the offering of wine, since "it might be an occasion of gluttony for those who were already given to drink". So, Augustine wrote of her:
Monica and her son spent six peaceful months at ''Rus Cassiciacum'' (present-day
Cassago Brianza) after which Augustine was baptized by Ambrose in the church of St. John the Baptist at Milan. Monica and Augustine left for Africa and they set out on their journey, stopping at
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...
and at
Ostia. Here Monica died, and Augustine's grief inspired his ''Confessions''.
Veneration
Monica was buried at
Ostia and at first seems to have been almost forgotten, though her body was removed during the 6th century to a hidden
crypt in the church of
Santa Aurea in Ostia. Monica was buried near the tomb of
Aurea of Ostia
Aurea of Ostia (or ''Aura''; in Greek, ''Chryse''; both names mean “golden girl”) is venerated as the patron saint of Ostia. According to one scholar, “ though the acta of Saint Aurea are pious fiction, she was a genuine martyr with a ver ...
.
Her tomb was later transferred to the
Basilica of Sant'Agostino, Rome.
Anicius Auchenius Bassus wrote Monica's funerary epitaph, which survived in ancient manuscripts.
The actual stone on which it was written was rediscovered in the summer of 1945 in the church of Santa Aurea. The fragment was discovered after two boys were digging a hole to plant a
football post in the courtyard beside Santa Aurea.
A translation from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
by Douglas Boin reads:
During the 13th century, however, the cult of Saint Monica began to spread and a feast in her honour was kept on 4 May. In 1430,
Pope Martin V ordered that the relics be brought to Rome. Many miracles are said to have occurred on the way, and the
cultus Cultus may refer to:
*Cult (religious practice)
* ''Cultus'' (stonefly), a genus of stoneflies
* Cultus Bay, a bay in Washington
* Cultus Lake (disambiguation)
*Cultus River, a river in Oregon
*Suzuki Cultus
The Suzuki Cultus is a supermini car ...
of Saint Monica was definitely established. Later the
archbishop of Rouen
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Arch ...
,
Guillaume d'Estouteville
Guillaume d'Estouteville, OSB (c. 1412–1483) was a French aristocrat of royal blood who became a leading bishop and cardinal. He held a number of Church offices simultaneously. He conducted the reexamination of the case of Jeanne d'Arc an ...
, built a church at Rome in honour of Augustine, the Basilica di Sant'Agostino, and deposited the relics of Saint Monica in a chapel to the left of the high altar. The Office of St. Monica, however, does not seem to have found a place in the
Roman Breviary before the 16th century.
In 1934, in the Dutch city of Utrecht, the order of the 'Zusters Augustinessen van Sint-Monica' was founded, doing social work, offering a shelter for women with unwanted pregnancies or women who were the victims of domestic violence or abuse. The
sisters
A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...
also started a number of primary schools. In their heyday the order had six convents, in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Sittard, Maastricht, Hilversum and Arnouville on the outskirts of Paris. Since the Hilversum convent, City of God, was closed in 2014, only Utrecht remains as a rest home for the elderly among the sisters, and Casella, a woodland retreat near Hilversum, where young people are still welcome for a meditative sojourn.
The city of
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...
, is named after Monica. A legend states that in the 18th century Father
Juan Crespí
Joan Crespí or Juan Crespí (1 March 1721 – 1 January 1782) was a Franciscan missionary and explorer of Las Californias.
Biography
A native of Majorca, Crespí entered the Franciscan order at the age of seventeen. He came to New Spain ...
named a local dripping spring ''Las Lágrimas de Santa Mónica'' ("Saint Monica’s Tears"; today known as the
Serra Springs) that was reminiscent of the tears that Monica shed over her son's early impiety. As recorded in his diary, however, Crespí actually named the place ''San Gregorio''. What is known for certain is that by the 1820s, the name Santa Monica was in use and its first official mention occurred in 1827 in the form of a grazing permit. There is a statue of this saint in Santa Monica's Palisades Park by sculptor
Eugene Morahan; it was completed in 1934.
Monica is honored in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
and in the
Episcopal Church on 4 May.
In popular culture
Patricia McGerr
Patricia McGerr (December 26, 1917 – May 11, 1985) was an American crime writer, primarily known for her puzzle mystery novels. She won an Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine/MWA prize for her 1968 story ''Match Point in Berlin'' and was awarded th ...
fictionalized her life in the 1964 novel ''My Brothers, Remember Monica: A Novel of the Mother of Augustine''.
In the 2010 film ''
Restless Heart: The Confessions of Saint Augustine'', Saint Monica is portrayed by Italian actress
Monica Guerritore
Monica Guerritore (5 January 1958 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian actress of cinema, theatre and television.
Biography
Born in Rome to a Neapolitan father and a Calabrian mother, after her debut at just sixteen years of age under the direction of G ...
.
In the oratorio ''La conversione di Sant'Agostino'' (1750) composed by
Johann Adolph Hasse
Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...
(libretto by
Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria
Maria Antonia, Princess of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (18 July 1724 – 23 April 1780) was a German princess, composer, singer, harpsichordist and patron of the arts, known particularly for her operas: ''Il trionfo della fedeltà'' (“The ...
), Monica's role in the conversion of her son Augustine is dramatized.
In his poem "Confessional",
Frank Bidart
Frank Bidart (born May 27, 1939) is an American academic and poet, and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Biography
Bidart is a native of California and considered a career in acting or directing when he was young. In 1957, he began to s ...
compares the relationship between Monica and her son Augustine to the relationship between the poem's speaker and his mother.
In “The Angel of Warning,” the fifth episode of season 3 of the TV series ''
Evil
Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
'', David explains that Monica was Black, although traditionally portrayed as white in religious art. In the tenth episode of season 3, he calls on St. Monica while jogging past a demonic apparition of sexual temptation in the guise of his colleague Kristen. He continues to pray for deliverance from temptation and is visited by St. Monica.
Gallery
File:Antonio vivarini, sposalizio di santa monica.jpg, ''Marriage of Saint Monica'' by Antonio Vivarini, 1441
File:Tabor CZ Nativity of Virgin Mary church front St Monica.jpg, Statue of St. Monica on the façade of a former Augustinian church in Tábor
Tábor (; german: Tabor) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation.
Administrative parts
The followi ...
, Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
File:8586 Milano - S. Marco - Pietro Maggi - Apparizione angelo a S. Monica -1714- - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto - 14-Apr-2007.jpg, ''The Angel Appears to Saint Monica'' by Pietro Maggi, 1714
File:St.Ulrich am Pillersee - Deckenfresko 1b.jpg, Fresco by Simon Benedikt Faistenberger, 1749
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
Everett Ferguson,
Encyclopedia of Early Christianity', Taylor & Francis, 1998, p. 776
*
John J. O'Meara, ''The Young Augustine: The Growth of St. Augustine's Mind up to His Conversion'', London, Longmans, Green and Co., 1954
* Volker Schier and
Corine Schleif, Opening the Geese Book: The Feast of Saint Monica, 201
External links
*
at
EWTN
The Eternal Word Television Network, more commonly known by its initials EWTN, is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic-themed programming. It is not only the largest Catholic television network in ...
Saint Monicaat Sacred Texts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monica, Saint
330s births
387 deaths
4th-century Roman women
Numidian saints
Berber Christians
4th-century Christian saints
People from Souk Ahras
Burials at Sant'Agostino, Rome
Late Ancient Christian female saints
4th-century Berber people
Ancient African women
Women in Algeria
Anglican saints