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St.
Angela Merici, January 27 |
Angela
Merici was born in Italy
and spent much of her early
life grieving. By the time
she reached her twenties,
her parents, her favorite
sister, the uncle who
raised her, and her best
friend had died. She could
have spent her life in
sorrow but she saw that
there was great need around
her. In filling that need,
she found new joy and hope.
Four
friends came to live with
her, and they began to
teach religion to young
girls. The work went well.
Angela designed a training
program for teachers. Soon
she was asked to begin a
school in Brescia. She also
gave spiritual
encouragement to a group of
men and women there. They
provided funds for the
school.
In
1525 the pope asked Angela
to take charge of a
congregation of nursing
sisters. But she didn’t
want fame-she felt her true
mission was to teach.
In
time Angela gathered a
group of young women-some
lived in community but many
others lived at home with
their families. They called
themselves the Ursulines.
They were to become the
first teaching order of
religious women. They chose
Angela as the head of the
group. She held that
position for the last five
years of her life.
The
Ursulines flourish to this
day and still have as their
mission the education of
young women |
Index of past 'Did you knows
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