St. Angela Merici
Feast 01-27 · Canonized 1807
Patron of
About
Angela Merici was born around 1474 in Desenzano, Italy. Orphaned as a young woman, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis and devoted herself to the religious education of poor girls.
In 1535 she founded the Company of St. Ursula in Brescia, a community of women dedicated to teaching girls in their own homes. This became the foundation of the Ursuline Order, the first teaching order of women in the Church.
She died in 1540 and was canonized in 1807. She is venerated as the patron saint of teachers, educators, and the sick.
Suggested prayer
O God, who inspired Angela Merici to gather women to teach poor girls in their own homes, grant through her intercession that teachers may instruct the young with wisdom and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.