St. Angela Merici
Feast day: January 27
Born in Italy in 1474, Angela was orphaned at a young age so she, along with her sister, went to live with her uncle’s family. After her sister died suddenly, Angela became a Franciscan tertiary. She returned to her hometown of Disenzano and converted her house into a school for teaching catechism to young girls. She opened a second school in Brescia. Angela made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was stricken with an episode of blindness but eventually regained her sight. In 1535, she founded the Ursulines and served as superior until her death in 1540. She is patron of the sick and the disabled.
Collect
May the Virgin Saint Angela never fail to commend us
to your compassion, O Lord, we pray,
that, following the lessons of her charity and prudence,
we may hold fast to your teaching
and express it in what we do.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
