January 27 | Saint Angela Merici

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Instead, imagine you have been saving up for the trip of a lifetime. You are traveling halfway across the world to see the most famous cities in history. You get on a boat, you brave the storms, and finally, after weeks of travel, you arrive.

You step off the boat, ready to see everything you've dreamed of, and suddenly... Everything goes black. Complete darkness. You aren't in a dark room. You've gone blind. But the woman we are talking about today didn't panic. She didn't turn back. Instead, she decided that if she couldn't see the holy sights with her eyes, she would see them with her heart. She kept going, experiencing every step of the journey with total joy.

This is the story of St. Angela Marici. She was born in Desenzano, Italy, on March 21, 1474. Now, life in the 1400s was already tough, but for Angela, it was filled with heartbreak. By the time she was a teenager, her parents had died, leaving her and her sister as orphans. They had to move in with their uncle. Just as they were settling in, Angela's sister passed away unexpectedly. Then, when Angela was 20 years old, her uncle died too. Because of this, St.

Angela Marici is the patron saint of those grieving the loss of parents. Angela returned to her hometown of Desenzano, and she looked around at her neighbors. She noticed something was wrong. Everything was messy and chaotic. She famously said, disorder in society is the result of disorder in the family. She realized that the families were struggling because the girls were struggling. In the 1500s, girls basically had two options. You got married, or you became a nun. And back then, being a nun usually meant being cloistered.

That means you lived inside a convent, behind walls, and never came out. Because unmarried women weren't allowed to work, and the nuns were locked away, there was nobody left to teach the young girls. They were growing up without an education. Angela opened her own home and invited young girls in to learn. Angela knew that if she just started another convent, she'd be locked away too. So, she created something totally new. She started a group called the Company of St. Ursula, which we now know as the Ursulines.

These women were consecrated to God, practiced poverty, chastity, and obedience, but they didn't take vows, and they didn't live in a convent. They lived in their own homes. They walked the streets, worked in the world, and focused on teaching. This made them the very first female teaching order in the history of the Catholic Church. Angela was tough. She reminded her fellow teachers that serving the poor was more important than their own comfort, telling them, they have a greater need to serve the poor than they have of your service.

And that brings us back to that dramatic opening story. In 1574, Angela went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was on the way there that she suddenly lost her eyesight. Can you imagine? Walking the path where Jesus walked but unable to see it? Yet, the sources tell us she joyfully continued her pilgrimage. She didn't let a disability stop her mission. On the way back home, she stopped at the exact same place where she had lost her sight, and suddenly, her vision returned.

Because of this incredible journey, St. Angela is also the patron saint of the physically disabled and those dealing with sickness. Angela died in Brescia, Italy, on January 27, 1540. By the time she passed away, there were 24 communities of Ursulines. Today, her order has spread all over the world, continuing the work she started. She is often shown in art holding a cloak and a ladder, symbols of her protection and her desire to help others climb toward heaven.

Think about that quote of hers. Disorder in society is the result of disorder in the family. Angela believed that fixing the world starts inside your own home. Your challenge this week is to bring a little bit of order to your family. Maybe that means finally cleaning your room. Or maybe it just means being a peacemaker when things get chaotic at the dinner table.

You don't need to be locked away in a castle or a convent to be holy. You can serve God right in your own living room. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.