Angela Merici
Life and witness
Founder of the Ursulines who created a new form of consecrated service devoted to Christian education.
Biographical overview
Angela Merici ( mə-REE-chee, Italian: [ˈandʒela meˈriːtʃi]; 21 March 1474 – 27 January 1540) was an Italian Catholic religious educator who founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535 in Brescia, in which women dedicated their lives to the service of the church through the education of girls. From this organisation later sprang the Order of Saint Ursula, whose nuns established places of prayer and learning throughout Europe and, later, worldwide, most notably in North America. After her death, Merici was venerated by Catholics around the world and a cause for sainthood was opened. She was canonized by Pope Pius VII in 1807.
Martyrologium Romanum · Latin witness
Brixiae natalis sanctae Angelae Merici Virginis, ex tertio Ordine sancti Francisci, quae Societatem Virginum sanctae Ursulae instituit, qnarum praecipuum munus esset dirigere adolescentulas in vias Domini. Ejus tamen festivitas, ex decreto Pii Papae Duodecimi, Kalendis Junii celebratur.