St. Angela Merici

Angela Merici was born in 1474 in Desenzano, a small Italian town. Her early life was shattered by the death of her parents when she was ten. She and her older sister went to live with an uncle, but her sister died shortly afterward. Angelo joined the Franciscan Tertiaries and lived a contemplative life. After the death of her uncle, Angela returned to Desenzano and began to teach young girls in her home. Seeing that unmarried women who did not join a convent were treated poorly, Angela dreamed of founding a way of life to give these women dignity. She founded the Company of St. Ursula, the first secular religious institute; members lived in their homes and practiced the evangelical counsels. Later in life, Angela was able to live in community with some of the Company of St. Ursula; this was the beginning of the Ursulines, the first order of religious women dedicated to teaching. Today, both the Company of St. Ursula and several different, independent branches of the Ursulines continue to flourish. Angela died in 1540 when she was nearly seventy, renowned for her holiness. She was canonized in 1807 and her feast day is currently celebrated on January 27. She is the patron of the disabled, of people who have lost their parents at a young age, and of the ill.