Santa angela merici biography of martin

Angela was born in Desenzano and grew up on a farm in the Le Grezze district of Desenzano. In her teenage years, both her parents and her sister died. Angela then went to live with relatives at Salo. It was at Salo that she met the Franciscans and became a Franciscan tertiary. Franciscan spirituality had a strong formative influence on her. Having convinced her aunt and uncle that she did not intend to marry, but rather wished to dedicate her life to God, she returned to Desenzano to her own vineyard. This she maintained for many years, until the Franciscans asked her to accompany a widow back to Brescia to give the widow support in her grief. Thus began her life in Brescia and the movement towards forming the Company of St Ursula, a dream she had had since a ung woman.

Living on the main rutt between Milan and Venice she was well aware of contemporary events. St Angela was a contemporary of Christopher Columbus, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Martin Luther, to name but a f

•

Merici, Angela, St.

Foundress, b. Desenzano, Republic of Venice, probably on March 21, 1474; d. Brescia, Jan. 27, 1540. Except for some years when she lived with an uncle's family in Salo, Angela remained in Desenzano until she was about 40. Around 1506, she was favored with a vision in which she was told, "Before your death, you will found a society of virgins at Brescia." She awaited a providential action that might lead her to Brescia, and in 1516 received such a sign in the invitation from the Patengoli family to live with them in order to console them because of the recent death of their two sons.

It was not until 1531 that she organized a small group of 12 girls to help her with the catechetical work she had already begun. By 1535 the group had increased to 28, and with characteristic simplicity Angela formed them (25 Nov. 1535) into the Company of St. Ursula by the simple inscription of their names in a book. Aware of the need for reform in both the Church and society, Ang

•

 St. Theresa

When Theresa was 15, she told her father of her desire to become a Carmelite. While her father agreed, the Carmel authorities and the local bishop refused her because of her age. Some months later, on a French pilgrimage, the family joined in a public audience with Pope Leo XIII. Theresa boldly broke the unwritten rule of silence and asked the Pope to be allowed to enter Carmel. At first he denied her request but by the end of that year permission was given and Theresa Martin entered Carmel at Lisieux where she made it her special mission to pray for priests.

By order of her superior, Mother Agnes (who was her sister Pauline), she was commanded to write an autobiography, The Story of a Soul, which is still recognized for its deep spiritual wisdom and beauty and for being an invitation to experience joy in serving and loving.

Theresa died at the age of 24. Her death generated a tremendous following and she became known at the "Little Flower". She was beatified