Today we celebrate the Italian saint Angela of Foligno, a nun and renowned mystic. She was born in 1248 in the Italian city of Foligno (Perugia province, Umbria) into a wealthy family. She married young and had several children. She lived a wild, dissolute, and sacrilegious life until 1285 when, after praying to Saint Francis of Assisi, she experienced a vision of the Savior who told her she would suffer greatly for her sins. This led to her conversion; she made a thorough confession, completely changed her ways, and strove to live according to Christ’s teachings. She raised her children in the Christian spirit, and after the death of her mother, husband, and children, she went to Assisi. She was admitted to the Third Order of Saint Francis, leading a life of penance and renunciation. She founded a community of tertiaries with simple vows dedicated to works of Christian charity without being bound to cloistered life in a convent, thus allowing them to more effectively engage in acts of charity.
A famous mystic and stigmatist, she was uniquely united with the Savior. After mystical encounters with Jesus, her soul was imbued with great light and exceptional understanding of the Holy Scriptures, leading to her being called the “teacher of theologians.” Her confessor, the Franciscan Fra Arnaldo, wrote a book about her visions and ecstasies, which she dictated and edited. She left behind many spiritual writings, letters, conversations, visions, and messages. She died on this day, January 4, 1309, in Foligno. Many miracles are attributed to her, and she was venerated as a saint immediately after her death. She was beatified in 1693 by Pope Innocent XII and canonized on October 9, 2013, by Pope Francis. She is the patron saint of widows, children in mortal danger, those ridiculed for their piety, and those who suffer from various trials, especially sexual abuse.
