History - The life Official Site of the «Angela Bl

History - The life

In the plaid of great mystics which stud the history of the church, Angela shines forth with a unique splendor because of the intensity of her experience, the depth of her concepts, and the bold vividness of her expression". The external history of this woman, a lay woman, mother, widow and literary figure (she was later declared Mistress of theologians) is limited lo very little, and not entirely reliable information. She was born in Foligno around 1248, twenty-two years after the death of St. Francis of Assisi. Thanks lo the lands and palaces her family owned in and outside the city walls, she lived her youth in a rich and comfortable atmosphere sustained by the affection of her mother who adored her. We do not know about her family or her father and from this it can be surmised that she was orphaned at an early age. Lella (as she was called familiarly at home) was a beautiful, intelligent, willful and rich girl, an explosive combination for a medieval woman or for a woman in our times. She herself would confess this later: "You should know, that for in whole lifetime I sought in every way how) I could be adored and honored. This thirst for adulation and her incessant search for life vanities soon drew her away from practicing religion and perhaps even from faith. Not even her marriage at an early age lo a local country gentleman and the children to who in she gave birth soon after succeeded in bringing her back lo the straight and narrow path. Despite the bad habits that were perhaps overly consolidated, Angela succeeded nonetheless in finding a positive answer to the failure of her life thanks also lo the extraordinary events that took place in those years in Foligno (the dreadful earthquakes of 1279 and 1282, a disastrous flood, and the war with Perugia) which deeply disturbed her fellow-citizens, some of whom felt the impelling need for a stricter behavior in life. Angela was especially influenced by the truly extraordinary example of Pietro Crisci, called 'Pietruccio', her fellow citizen, who sold all his huge patrimony and distributed it to the poor in order lo lead a life of strict ascesis and prayer. She, who initially ridiculed him, was later struck by his spiritual serenity and felt attracted to imitate him. Presumably in 1285, after a period of mundane and carefree life, she under-went a profound change which would gradually lead her lo a very lofty spiritual perfection. Being deeply attracted by Francis of Assisi's ideal, in 1291 she joined the Third Order, aided by the Franciscan friars of the nearby convent and especially by one of them, Friar A(rnaldo), who was also her cousin. He heard her first confession which marked the beginning of her new life, he again led her along the way of perfection and recorded her visions in a book. Angela died in 1309 comforted by many disciples for whom years beforehand she had instituted a "Cenacle" of spiritual life and social action. Her body is venerated in the church of St. Francis in Foligno.

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History - The life