St. Angela Merici was an Italian religious educator and founder of the Ursulines. She was born on March 21, 1474, in Desenzano, a small town on the shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy.

When Angela was 10 years old, she lost her parents, following which, she along with her sister, went to live with their uncle in Salo. Soon, she lost her sister as well.

Angela decided to dedicate herself to the Lord and to give her life in service to the Church to help everyone grow closer to the Lord. In a vision, she learned her sister was in Heaven with the company of saints. She became increasingly devout and joined the Third Order of St. Francis where she also pledged to remain a consecrated virgin.

When Angela was 20 years old, she returned to Desenzano with her uncle. She found that around her hometown there were many young girls who had no education. She became distressed by their ignorance and upset at the parents who had not educated them.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Angela became convinced there was great need for a better way of teaching these young girls. Hence, she opened her own home to them and began to teach them herself. She devotedly taught them the Catholic Christian faith and taught them to how to pray and participate in the sacramental life of the Church by her own life.

Another vision from the Lord revealed to Angela that she was to found an institution with other consecrated virgins to further devote their lives toward the religious training of young girls. These women had little money and no power but were bound together by their dedication to education and commitment to Jesus Christ and service to His Church.

In 1524, she eagerly took on the opportunity to travel to the Holy Land. During the journey, she was suddenly struck with blindness while on the island of Crete. Yet, she made the entire pilgrimage and visited the sacred shrines. On the journey back home, her sight was miraculously restored while she was praying before a crucifix in the same place where she had become blind. The Lord showed Angela through this experience that she must never shut her eyes to the needs she saw around her and not to shut her heart to God's call.

Pope Clement VII had heard of Angela and her great holiness. He noted her wonderful success as a religious teacher for young girls and invited her to stay in Rome. Angela was humble, disliked publicity and kindly declined the generous offer.

Although it was never recognized formally as a religious order in her lifetime, Angela's Company of Saint Ursula, or the Ursulines, was the first group of women religious to work outside of the cloister and became the first teaching order of women in the Catholic Church. On November 25, 1535, Angela gathered together 12 young virgins and laid down the foundation for the Order of the Ursulines at a small house near the Church of St. Afra in Bresica with Angela's Company of Saint Ursula, under the patronage of St. Ursula.

The Ursulines opened both schools and orphanages and in 1537, Angela was elected "Mother and Mistress" of the group. Her Rule was officially approved by Pope Paul III in 1544 and the Ursulines became a recognized religious community of women with a teaching ministry.

Before her death, Angela reassured her Sisters who were afraid to lose her in death: "I shall continue to be more alive than I was in this life, and I shall see you better and shall love more the good deeds which I shall see you doing continually, and I shall be able to help you more."

St. Angela Merici died on January 27, 1540. Clothed in the habit of a Franciscan tertiary, Angela was buried in the Church of St. Afra in Brescia.

Other Saints of the day
1. Saint Aviates
2. Saint Candida
3. Saint Datius
4. Saint Emerius
5. Saint Julian of Le Mans

-catholic.org