Blessed Angela of Foligno

Bl Angela of Foligno.jpgPraise to the holy woman whose home is built on faithful love and whose pathway leads to God.

Almighty God, You caused blessed Angela to excel in contemplating the mysteries of Your Son. Through he merits and prayers may we share in the same mysteries on earth and rejoice exultantly in the revelation of Your glory.
A 13th century third order Franciscan, Blessed Angela, gave her life to Christ based on a vision she had had of Saint Francis and after living a wild, and some would say sinful life. She was a wife, mother and a leader of other lay people who followed the Franciscan Rule for the laity.
Blessed Angela is the patron against sexual temptation, against the death of children, people ridiculed for their piety and widows. She is often depicted receiving Holy Communion from the Lord, or in the case of the image here, from an angel of the Lord (given her name, “Angela”).
The observance of the feast has had a number of changes: some calendars note her feast day as January 4th or March 30th, but the current Ordo has her liturgical memorial listed today.
An Italian website on Blessed Angela