Angela Merici

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Angela Merici
Statue of Saint Angela Merici
founder of the Order of Ursulines
Born	21 March 1474, Desenzano, Lake Garda, Germany
Died	24 January 1540, Brescia, Italy
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	1768 by Pope Clement XIII
Canonized	1807 by Pope Pius VII
Major shrine	church of Saint Afra, Brescia, Italy
Feast	1 June
Attributes	cloak, ladder
Patronage	sickness, handicapped people, loss of parents
Saints Portal

Saint Angela Merici (1474? - 1540) was an Italian religious leader and saint born in Desenzano del Garda, Brescia, Lombardy. She founded the Order of Ursulines in 1535 in Brescia. Merici was beatified in 1768 by Clement XIII and canonized in 1807 by Pius VII. She is buried in the Church of St. Afra at Brescia and her Catholic feast day is January 27. Before the revision of the calendar of saints following the Second Vatican Council, her feast day was May 31, but moved to June 1 in 1954 when Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen.

[edit] Early life

Angela Merici was born in Desenzano del Garda in Brescia, near the Lago di Garda. Her parents died while she was young, and she moved to Salo, Italy to live with her uncle.

Angela was concerned about the life of girls, as they were generally uneducated at that time, as well as the lives of people in slums. After trips to many places, including the Holy Land and Rome, in 1535, she and some of her friends founded the Order of Ursulines in Italy, named for its patron saint, Saint Ursula, a martyr. Merici created the regula, a list of rules for those who join the order, which includes three oaths: an oath of poverty, an oath of obedience, and an oath of holiness.

She is now buried in St. Afras Church in Italy. She is a role model for many Catholic schools, especially Beaumont School. She is the role model.