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Saint Angela Merici
Feastday: January 27
Would you ever say “no” to the Pope? Probably not, unless you thought a higher power than the Pope was calling you. Angela Merici knew in her heart that God wanted her to teach the poor. That is why, when Pope Clement VII asked her to head up a group of nurses, she had to tell him, “no.” She followed God and her heart and founded the Ursuline sisters.
Angela was born around 1470 on a farm in Desenzano, Italy. She had three older brothers, an older sister, and a younger sister. The older children and Angela’s parents had all died before Angela was an adult. She and her younger sister were cared for by an uncle, but he died when Angela was a young woman.
People knew Angela really loved God. She spent a lot of her time praying. She was especially fascinated by Saint Ursula who was the daughter of a British Christian king in the tenth century. Several legends exist regarding Ursula, but Angela understood her to be someone executed for not marrying a pagan prince.
Angela Merici claimed to have several visions during her life and one of them was as a young girl. She saw angelic young girls on stairs from heaven. One of the angels was her older sister. They were all singing and playing musical instruments. In the dream Angela’s sister told her that she was to organize a group of women and that the group would grow in numbers.
After her uncle died, Angela went to Brescia, Italy where a wealthy family helped her open a school for young women. At the school, Angela taught the girls about God. Around this time, the Pope, Clement VII, asked her to head a group of women nurses. Angela probably didn’t like saying “no” to the Pope, but she believed God wanted her to do something else. She had a clear understanding of her dream.
Many people in Italy were poor and sick. They lived in pitiful conditions. Angela saw that the wealthy were doing fine but the these poor people had no one to care for them. In November, 1535, she gathered a group of women to help take care of the city’s poor. They called themselves Ursulines because they believed St. Ursula would protect them. They divided Brescia into sections and the Ursulines went out in groups to help take care of and teach young women.
Since that time, almost 500 years ago, the Ursuline community can be found throughout the world teaching and caring for those who will hear the Good News.
