St. Angela Merici, Virgin


St. Angela Merici, the patroness of the parish, was born in Desenzano, Italy in 1474. The house in which she was born is still standing. It is marked by a plague which states that Angela Merici who founded the Order of St. Ursula, and died in Brescia in 1540, was born in the house in 1474 on the second floor. Her father, Thomas Merici, was a highly esteemed landowner in the lake Garda District. Her mother was a member of prosperous Biancosi family, merchants in Salo. Angela spent her childhood at Grezze, the family farm near Desenzano. The estate is still a working farm today.

At a time when few books were on print, Thomas Merici owned a copy of Legenda Sanctorum. He read stories of the lives of the saints to his wife and two daughters every day. This early religious education had a profound influence on Angela. She and her older sister, who died very young, determined to follow the example of the saints about whom they were learning. It was from this book that Angela first heard of the British princess St. Ursula, a 4th century virgin and martyr. She is the patroness of the Order which Angela established near the end of her life. From childhood Angela lived a life of prayer and penance. While still in her teens, she became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. She lived according to its rule for the rest of her life.

Before Angela was fifteen both of her parents had died. She went to Salo to live with her mother’s family until she was twenty. Angela then returned to Grezze where she spent the next twenty years managing the farm which she had inherited. From there she traveled to the villages and towns around Lake Garda teaching religion and caring for the sick.

Angela left her farm to live in the city of Brescia in order to expand her teaching and works of charity. She dedicated her life to helping people in need. Angela was assisted in her work by women from influential families. Many had been widowed as a result of the continuous warfare in northern Italy.

Germany, France and Venice were fighting for control of northern Italy. There were many factions among the citizens of Brescia. The feuding between families often made it unsafe for residents to be on the streets. Brescia was a city of towers, each one owned by a powerful family keeping watch over its enemies. The women of Brescia called upon Angela to negotiate peace and she was often successful. She worked with bishop of Brescia in her role as a peacemaker and her reputation spread throughout the north of Italy.

When she was fifty years old, Angela made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This was considered the greatest act of devotion a Christian could perform. It involved a very dangerous journey which only the most courageous undertook. At sea, the pilgrims faced shipwreck and pirates. On land, they had to contend with robbers and hostile local population.

A statue of St. Angela is in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, among those of other founders of principal religious orders. She is recognized by the church as the first woman to establish a religious order in her own right. The order was founded to continue Angela’s charitable works in Brescia, which included the religious education of young women. In 1595, the Ursulines opened their first school for girls in Parma, Italy. St. Angela’s care for the Christians upbringing of the young girls of Brescia grew into a system of Catholic education throughout northern Italy and France. Ursulines came to North America from France. There area now Ursuline schools in many countries.

Shortly before her death in 1540, one of Angela’s good friends asked her for a spiritual testament. She advised: “Do in life what you would wish to have done at the hour of death.”