Angela De Merici
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Angela Merici ( ; ; 21 March 1474 – 27 January 1540) was an
Italian Catholic The Italian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Italy, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome, under the Conference of Italian Bishops. The pope serves also as Primate of Italy and Bishop of Rome. In add ...
religious educator who founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535 in
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
, in which women dedicated their lives to the service of the church through the education of girls. From this organisation later sprang the Order of Saint Ursula, whose nuns established places of prayer and learning throughout Europe and, later, worldwide, most notably in North America. After her death, Merici was venerated by Catholics around the world and a cause for sainthood was opened. She was canonized by
Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...
in 1807.


Life

Merici was born in 1474 on a farm near
Desenzano del Garda Desenzano del Garda () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy, on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda. It borders the communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato, Padenghe sul Garda, and Sirmione. History T ...
, a small town on the southwestern shore of
Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...
in Lombardy, Italy. She and her older sister, Giana Maria, were left orphans when she was ten years old. They went to live with their uncle in the town of
Salò Salò (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the Governance#Seat of government, seat of government of th ...
. Young Angela was very distressed when her sister suddenly died without receiving the
last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...
of the church and prayed that her sister's soul rest in peace. It is said that in a vision she received a response that her sister was in heaven in the company of the saints.Ott, Michael. "St. Angela Merici." ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 28 May 2013
/ref> She joined the
Third Order of St. Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis, or Franciscan Tertiaries, is the third order of the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. Francis founded the Third Order, originally called t ...
around that time. People began to notice Angela's beauty and particularly to admire her hair. As she had promised herself to God, and wanted to avoid the worldly attention, she dyed her hair with soot. Merici's uncle died when she was twenty years old and she returned to her home in Desenzano, and lived with her brothers, on her own property, given to her in lieu of the dowry that would otherwise have been hers had she married. She later had another vision that 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. This association was a success and she was invited to start another school in the neighboring city of
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
. According to legend, in 1524, while traveling to the
Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
, Merici suddenly became blind when she was on the island of
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
. Despite this, she continued her journey to the Holy Land and was ostensibly cured of her blindness on her return, while praying before a
crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...
, at the same place where she had been struck with blindness a few weeks earlier. In 1525, she journeyed to Rome in order to gain the
indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...
s of the
Jubilee Year A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...
then being celebrated.
Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...
, who had heard of her virtue and success with her school, invited her to remain in Rome. Merici disliked notoriety, however, and soon returned to Brescia. On 25 November 1535, Merici gathered with 12 young women who had joined in her work in a small house in Brescia near the Church of
Saint Afra Saint Afra (died 304) was martyred during the Diocletian persecution. Along with Saint Ulrich & St Simpert, she is a patron saint of Augsburg. Her feast day is August 7. Afra was dedicated to the service of the goddess Venus by her mother, H ...
, where together they committed themselves in the founding of the Company of St. Ursula, placed under the protection of the
patroness Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
of medieval universities. Her goal was to elevate family life through the Christian education of future wives and mothers. They were the first teaching order of women religious. Four years later the group had grown to 28.Foley, Leonard, OFM. "St. Angela Merici", ''Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast'' (revised by Pat McCloskey, OFM) Franciscan Media
/ref> Merici taught her companions to serve God, while remain in the world, teaching the girls of their own neighborhood, and to practice a religious form of life in their own homes. The members wore no special habit and took no formal
religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...
. Merici wrote a Rule of Life for the group, which specified the practice of
celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term ''celibacy'' is applied ...
, poverty and obedience in their own homes. The Ursulines opened orphanages and schools. On 18 March 1537, she was elected "Mother and Mistress" of the group. The Rule she had written was approved in 1544 by
Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...
. When Merici died in Brescia on 27 January 1540, there were 24 communities of the Company of St. Ursula serving the Catholic Church through the region. Her body was clothed in the
habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...
of a
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...
and was interred in the Church of Sant'Afra. The traditional view is that Merici believed that better Christian education was needed for girls and young women, to which end she dedicated her life. Querciolo Mazzonis argues that the Company of St. Ursula was not originally intended as a charitable group specifically focused on the education of poor girls, but that this direction developed after her death in 1540, sometime after it received formal recognition in 1546.


Veneration

During her life, Merici had often prayed at the tombs of the Brescian martyrs at the Church of St. Afra in Brescia. She lived in small rooms attached to a priory of the
Canons Regular of the Lateran The Canons Regular of the Lateran (CRL, Canonici Regulares Lateranenses), formally titled the Canons Regular of St. Augustine of the Congregation of the Most Holy Savior at the Lateran, is an international congregation of canons regular, comprisin ...
. According to her wishes, after her death, she was interred in the Church of St Afra to be near the martyrs' remains. There her body remained until the complete destruction of this church and its surrounding area by Allied bombing during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, on 2 March 1945, in which the
parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
and many townspeople died. The church and corresponding buildings were afterwards rebuilt, and reopened on 10 April 1954. The church was consecrated on 27 January 1956, with a new dedication to Saint Angela Merici, while the Parish of St. Afra was transferred to the neighboring Church of St. Eufemia. Merici was
beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...
in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
on 30 April 1768, by
Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII (; ; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. He was installed on 16 July 1758. ...
. She was later
canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...
on 24 May 1807 by
Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...
.


Feast day

Merici was not included in the 1570
Tridentine calendar The Tridentine calendar is the calendar of saints to be honoured in the course of the liturgical year in the official liturgy of the Roman Rite as reformed by Pope Pius V and first issued in 1568, implementing a decision of the Council of Trent, ...
of
Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...
because she was not canonized until 1807. In 1861, her
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
was included in the
Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. Although the term is primarily used for Rome's pre-Julian calendars, it is often used inclusively of the Julian calendar established by Julius Caesar in 46&nbs ...
– not on the day of her death, 27 January, since this date was occupied by the feast day of Saint
John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...
, but instead on 31 May. In 1955,
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
assigned this date to the new feast of the Queenship of Mary, and moved Merici's feast to 1 June. The celebration was ranked as a Double until 1960, when
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
gave it the equivalent rank of Third-Class Feast. Lastly, in the major 1969 reform of the liturgy,
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
moved the celebration, ranked as a
Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
, to the saint's day of death, 27 January.


Dedications

* Parishes are dedicated to St. Angela Merici in
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;
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;
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;
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;
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;
Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...
, Canada;
Missouri City, Texas Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, an increas ...
Louisville, Kentucky and
Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
. * There are St. Angela Merici Parishes and Schools in
Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle-class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population ...
,
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,
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; and
Missouri City, Texas Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, an increas ...
.St. Angela Merici Catholic Church, Houston, Texas
/ref> *St. Angela Merici Catholic School, Bradford, Ontario, Canada. *St. Angela Merici Catholic School, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. *St. Angela Merici Academy, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States. *St. Angela Merici Catholic School, Chatham, Ontario. Canada *St. Angela Merici Montessori School, Dasmariñas, Cavite, Philippines *St. Angela's College, Cork, Ireland. *St. Angela's College, Sligo *St. Angela's School, Ursuline Convent Waterford, Waterford, Ireland. *Ursuline College, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. *Ursuline College, Blackrock, Cork, Ireland *Ursuline College Thurles, Tipperary, Ireland. *St. Angela's Ursuline RA School Forest Gate, London, United Kingdom *Merici College, Braddon, ACT, Australia. *École St. Angela Merici, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.


See also

*
List of Catholic saints This is an incomplete list of humans and angels whom the Catholic Church has Canonization, canonized as saints. According to Catholic theology, all saints enjoy the beatific vision. Many of the saints listed here are found in the General Roman C ...
*
Incorruptibility Incorruptibility is a Catholic and Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. I ...
* Saint Angela Merici, patron saint archive


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Q. Mazzonis, "The Impact of Renaissance Gender-Related Notions on the Female Experience of the Sacred: The Case of Angela Merici's Ursulines," in Laurence Lux-Sterritt and Carmen Mangion (eds), ''Gender, Catholicism and Spirituality: Women and the Roman Catholic Church in Britain and Europe, 1200–1900'' (Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011),


External links


Founder Statue in St Peter's Basilica


* ttp://www.angelamerici.it/index_eng.php Ursuline Network {{DEFAULTSORT:Merici, Angela 1474 births 1540 deaths People from Desenzano del Garda Italian educators Founders of Catholic religious communities Italian Roman Catholic saints Franciscan saints Members of the Third Order of Saint Francis Incorrupt saints Christian female saints of the Early Modern era 15th-century Italian women 16th-century Italian women 16th-century Christian saints Beatifications by Pope Clement XIII Canonizations by Pope Pius VII 15th-century educators