“I venerate in my nuns the hidden sainthood that God has infused in their souls”.
Blessed Maria Angela Astorch
Saint of the Day Quote: Blessed Maria Angela Astorch
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
Lots of interesting tidbits of Maria Angela’s life in Wikipedia. A brief excerpt:
On 16 September 1603, at age 11, she entered the monastery of St. Margaret of Barcelona, founded by Mother Angela Serafina Prat. She did it with the six volumes of the Breviary in Latin, which she had already mastered. Despite her early maturity, she had to wait until 1608 for the recruitment to end, a wait made difficult by misunderstanding and envy of the teacher, who came to abuse her; eventually because of her maturity and culture, she was commissioned to give some training to their colleagues. In the end Mother Angela Serafina ended up deposing the master and putting in place Astorch Isabel, Maria Angela’s sister.
JPII’s remarks from his Regina Coeli of May 1982 (via Google translate):
“A Poor Clare Capuchin, she was a reformer and a model superior, finding the deep source of her spiritual life in Sacred Scripture and the Liturgy of the Hours.”
Amazing. At age 11.
Then to suffer for her gifts, her thirst for God in prayers and love of scripture.
Thanks for the extra, 3049.