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Angela Merici was a woman who saw a problem in her community and set out to fix it. In the process, she established a new form of religious life for other women to follow.
Angela Merici was born in Italy around 1470. When she was a teenager, she began to live a very austere life. For example, she lived mostly on bread, water, and a few vegetables. She also was very impressed by the life of St. Francis of Assisi, noted for his love of poverty.
When Angela was twenty-two years old, she became very concerned about the ignorance of the poor children that she found in her town. She was especially concerned about the girls who were growing up with very little education. Therefore, she gathered some women friends and began teaching them. Later, she moved to Brescia, Kingdom of Venice, where she began to teach poor girls.
In 1525, she obtained an audience with the pope. Because he knew of her leadership abilities, he asked her if she would lead a group of nursing sisters. She declined because she believed that God wanted her to be a teacher.
When she was fifty-seven years old, Angela founded a religious order that she put under the direction of St. Ursula, the patron saint of medieval universities and popularly venerated as a leader of women. The religious community of sisters she founded was totally different from any religious order of women in the history of the Catholic Church up to that time. For example, the women took no vows, they wore no distinctive habit, they lived in their parents’ homes, and they did not live a community life. They did, however, come together for prayer. Their Order, popularly called the Ursuline Sisters, was the very first order of women devoted almost exclusively to the teaching of poor girls.
Angela Merici died on January 27, 1540 at the age of 65 in Brescia. Pope Clement XIII canonized her on April 30, 1768. St. Angela is a patron saint of the sick, persons with handicaps, those who have lost parents. She is also known for the virtues of courage, determination and strength.
The Ursuline Sisters continue to thrive and have schools all over the world. There are many schools and parishes throughout the world named after St. Angela Merici.
In addition, today there are many other Catholic religious communities of men and women who teach in Catholic elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and universities throughout the world. In fact, of the many gifts that the Catholic Church has received from the Holy Spirit, the devotion to education is perhaps one of the most precious.
