Angela of Foligno
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| Blessed Angela of Foligno | |
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| Mistress of Theologians | |
| Born | 1248, Foligno |
| Died | January 4, 1309 |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholicism |
| Beatified | 1693 by Pope Innocent XII |
| Feast | January 4 |
| Patronage | those afflicted by sexual temptation, widows |
 Saints Portal |
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Angela of Foligno (c. 1248 – 4 January 1309) was a Christian author, nun, and mystic. She was noted not only for her spiritual writings, but also for founding a religious order.
[edit] Early life and conversion
Angela was born into a wealthy family in the city of Foligno, Italy (near Assisi). She married at an early age, and traditional accounts state that she lived "wildly, adulterously, and sacrilegiously" in her early years.[1] However, Angela's lifestyle abruptly changed following the deaths of her family and an unknown shameful sin. In 1285, she prayed to the late Francis of Assisi, who then appeared to her in a dream and offered to help.
Some time after her conversion Angela had placed herself under the direction of a Franciscan friar named Arnoldo, who would serve as her confessor. It was to Arnoldo that Angela dictated the account of her conversion, a work that has come to us as the Book of Visions and Instructions. Further, it was under Arnoldo's instruction that Angela joined the Third Order of Saint Francis.
In the course of time the fame of her sanctity gathered around her a number of Tertiaries, men and women, who strove under her direction to advance in holiness. Later she established at Foligno a community of sisters, who to the Rule of the Third Order added the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, without, however, binding themselves to enclosure, so that they might devote their time to works of charity.
Angela died, surrounded by her community. Her remains repose in the church of St. Francis at Foligno. Many people attributed miracles to her, which were accomplished at her tomb. Pope Innocent XII approved the veneration paid to her in her beatification. Her feast day is celebrated in the Franciscan Orders on the March 30.
Blessed Angela's authority as a spiritual teacher may be gathered from the fact that Bollandus, among other testimonials, quotes Maximilian Sandaeus, of the Society of Jesus, who calls her the "Mistress of Theologians, whose whole doctrine has been drawn out of the Book of Life, Jesus Christ, Our Lord."
[edit] References
- ^ Blessed Angela of Foligno in the Patron Saints Index
"Bl. Angela of Foligno". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.
[edit] External links
- Saint of the Day, January 4 at St. Patrick Catholic Church
