Blessed Angeline of Marsciano

When she was fifteen, her father wished to marry her to Joh n of Terni, C Jean de Terni Husband of Angeline, with whom he lived in chastity. ount of Civitella, a small town in the Abruzzo region, in the Kingdom of Naples. Her vow of chastity forbade her from accepting such a union; but her father grew violently angry at this refusal of obedience, and gave her eight days to decide. In this perplexity, she threw herself into the arms of God, who had inspired her at the moment of her vow, asking Him to give her the strength and the means to observe it faithfully. Amidst her fears mingled with hopes, a voice from above advised her to obey her father, and to entrust the rest to the care of divine Providence. From then on, tranquil in her conscience, she declared to her father that she was ready to do according to his desire. The latter, filled with joy, sent for the young count, who exchanged engagement rings with Angeline. Confident in the decrees of God, she was not troubled at this supreme moment; however, after the ceremony, she was not without anxiety regarding how she would reconcile her vows with the events. Kneeling in her room, at the feet of a crucifix, she united herself with her divine fiancé in an ardent prayer, exposed to Him the danger that threatened her in such an imminent manner, and asked Him with more insistence than ever not to abandon her. At that moment an angel appeared to her, who reassured her fully in her apprehensions and promised her that everything would go according to her desires.

The next day, when she found herself alone with the young count, she suddenly threw herself at his feet, her hands pleading and her eyes full of tears; she opened her heart to him without hesitation, told him of the vows she had made in consecrating herself to God, the heavenly apparition that had confirmed her in her holy resolutions, and the firm hope she had conceived of not faltering in them. The young man, deeply moved by such virtue and such great frankness, bowed respectfully before her, and replied: "Before the King of kings, every other fiancé must humble himself and disappear; be at peace, and do not believe that I would ever wish to violate the purity of your resolutions; she who has received the name of Angeline shall preserve her angelic chastity; see in me only the humble servant of the bride of Jesus Christ. O my sister, the chaste affection that I have vowed to you, I shall preserve pure and faithful with the help of Him whom I love and respect as you love and respect Him yourself." At these words, Angeline could not suppress a surge of gratitude toward the Lord, who was delivering her from such a pressing danger, and also toward the young count, who showed himself to be such a docile instrument of the decrees of Providence. They mingled their souls in a common prayer, and renewed at the foot of the cross the promises they had made to each other and which they swore before God to observe until death. After the marriage ceremony, they left for Civitella, where they lived simply, spreading around them the benefits of great charity and the example of their high virtues. They had been married barely two years when the count died after a short illness. Free from the bonds of the world, Angeline aspired more ardently than ever toward heaven; she dismissed all the servants of her house, and exchanged her riches for the habit of the Third Order. Almsgiving, the care of the sick and the orphans shared all her leisure time. God often testified to her the satisfaction that her good deeds caused Him through the favors, sometimes miraculous, with which He was pleased to reward them. Many of the sick to whom she gave her care were healed against all hope; souls lost by evil instincts and gangrened by vice also returned suddenly to God, converted by her example, by her pious teachings, and her constant prayers. She went traversing the Abruzzo region, stopping in the cities and in the smallest villages, preaching everywhere the benefits of the Catholic faith and the love of the Lord, encouraging especially young girls to offer to God the sacrifice of their lives and to consecrate themselves to Him under the habit of the Third Order. So much zeal for the service of God was bound to attract the envy and persecution of the less fervent. She was accused before Ladislas, King of Naples and Sicily, of seeking to turn young people away from marriage Ladislas King who initially persecuted Angeline before recognizing her innocence. and of preaching contempt for this sacrament. Ill-intentioned persons went so far as to make her pass in the eyes of the king for an emissary of heresy, and claimed to convict her of being among the number of the most bitter enemies of the Church. The king, momentarily deceived by these slanders, had her searched for in the Abruzzo region, ready to make her expiate on the stake the impious doctrines she was supposed to profess.

The holy woman had to prepare herself to appear before the king, not knowing why she was being sought in such a manner; but God miraculously revealed to her the names of her enemies, assuring her of His protection, and ordered her to appear before the prince, a burning brazier in her hand, ready to sacrifice her life if she were condemned. She therefore went to Naples, provided with H Naples Place of the saint's death. oly Communion, and appeared before the king, in the presence of a numerous court of princes and great lords, prepared, she said, to set fire to her garments if justice were not done to her. The king was struck by her resolute air and her declarations full of frankness. After a short interrogation, he remained convinced that this woman had never attempted to violate the established laws of marriage, but had only made young girls understand the advantages and sweetness of the monastic life. Far from blaming her, he complimented her, before his entire court, for her zeal for the triumph of the faith, and sent her away with great testimonies of respect and gratitude. She remained for some time in Naples, thanking the Lord who had unveiled her innocence in such a striking manner, visiting the churches and convents of the city.

During her stay, the son of a poor woman died, and some people who had heard of Angeline's merits and the favors she constantly received from heaven came to ask her if she could not come to the aid of the unhappy mother, through her prayers or her care. Angeline protested her powerlessness, and nevertheless went to the bedside of the deceased, whom she tried in vain to bring back to life. Then she offered an ardent prayer, and after giving a little hope to the mother, she recommended that she not let her son be buried before the next day, and, in that interval, to approach the Holy Table; she herself received communion, after which she went again to the mortuary chamber. There, after a moment of supreme recollection, she suddenly ordered the young man to rise, and at the same moment he rose as if coming out of a deep sleep, to the great admiration of those present and the supreme joy of the mother. This miracle was soon known throughout the city of Naples where Angeline was surrounded by universal respect; her humility, which suffered from this, made her immediately leave the city. Thus are the designs of God accomplished: a woman who had been called to the city under the weight of the most serious accusations was leaving it a few days later honored with marks of the esteem and admiration of all; and, on the point of losing her life, it was she, on the contrary, who snatched one of its victims from death.

She resumed the road to Civitella, continuing everywhere along her path the pious propaganda she had undertaken in the Abruzzo. Back in her native city, she devoted herself more than ever to the education of the young girls who came in crowds to seek her counsel and often decided to abandon the joys of the world for the rule of the cloister. The same worldly interest that had already caused her to be pursued before the king soon stirred up new storms against her. The parents of the young girls she instructed, noble and powerful families blinded to the true interests of these children, complained more bitterly than ever of the acts of this holy woman. The complaints reached the king once again, who, obsessed by such incessantly renewed petitions, allowed himself to be pressured into ordering the exile of Angeline and her faithful followers. She bore this new persecution courageously; her voice, too weak against the chorus of accusations brought against her, had to fall silent; she gathered her companions around her and sold all her possessions, distributing a portion to the poor and reserving the rest for the expenses of her journey. But where would she direct her steps? Who would guide her to a more hospitable region? According to her custom, she entrusted herself to God, whom she prayed fervently to make His will known to her. In the midst of a fervent prayer, she heard a voice that ordered her to go to Assisi to gain the great indulgences at the abbey of the Portiuncula. She therefore left Civitella, to the great regret of the pious souls she had edified by her example. She went to bid farewell to her father, who spoke with her at length before she left, trying to keep her with him; but he did not succeed: God had shown her the way, and she had to follow it. Everywhere along her path, in villages and towns, she stopped for a moment with her small band to perform some good deed and spread the fragrance of her great virtues among pious souls. She finally arrived in Assisi in 1395, and there received the most touching welcome from all. After visiting the churches and convents of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, she went on August 1st to the famous abbey of the Portiuncula, where she prayed for several days for her neighbor, for those who had exiled her, and especially for the faithful companions who had followed her. She asked the Lord again what she should do, and in a holy ecstasy, an angel revealed to her that she should go to Foligno Foligno City where Saint Florent ended his days. to found a convent of the Order of Saint Francis.

She was thus seen courageously setting out again for Foligno, where she visited the church of Saint Felician, patron of the city. After fervently imploring his protection and help for the work she was to undertake, she went to the bishop of the city and obtained from him the grant of a large space of land to build a convent in honor of Saint Anne, who was her mother's patron saint, and, in 1397, she took her vows at the hands of the prelate with seven of her companions. From that moment, the number of nuns increased rapidly, and by the end of the year there were no fewer than thirty, from Foligno or neighboring towns. Astonished by the daily growing prosperity of this institution, the city authorities soon feared that space might run out for new followers; they therefore had another convent built under the protection of Saint Agnes, not far from the first, which had Blessed Margaret of Foligno as its superior. This pious example bore fruit; in a few years, similar convents were seen rising in Viterbo, Assisi, Todi, Ascoli, Rieti, and Florence; the latter contained no fewer than one hundred nuns. In 1405, Angeline went to found a Third Order monastery in Naples, where a crowd of young women soon took the habit. She returned to Foligno in 1423 and sent two of her sisters to Rome to create a new convent on Mount Citorio. Two other convents were established there a few years later through the efforts of Angeline. At her urging, Pope Boniface IX had decided that his consistory would appoint every three years a general abbess who would visit all the convents and give the habit to the professed. It was Angeline herself who first occupied this position, where her duties were so numerous and diverse that she had to be assisted, with the assent of Pope Martin V. Following other provisions, the dignity of general abbess was later suppressed by Pope Paul II. Thus, all these convents had been founded by Angeline herself or by companions she had delegated for this purpose. Thanks to her zeal, they had prospered and grown. Although born of illustrious blood and one of the most powerful countesses in the kingdom, she never wanted to hear of her nobility, worked like the humblest of her sisters, and shared the most menial tasks with them. She often served them herself; in fasting and penance, she surpassed them all in her austerities. Constantly subjected to the attacks of the demon, she always repelled them victoriously, although God, to test her and make her stronger, permitted Satan to torment her in the most horrible way.

However, death was approaching for her; a serious illness came to surprise her: she gathered all her sisters around her, urgently recommended to them the strict observance of the Rule, and gave them her blessing, which she extended to all her absent sisters. After receiving the sacraments, she fell into a sweet ecstasy, in the midst of which the angels came to take her to lead her before the throne of God. It was December 25, 1435, in the fifty-ninth year of her age. Her face remained calm and pure as if she were still praying, and the sweetest perfumes spread throughout her cell. An innumerable crowd came to contemplate her remains one last time and to fight over scraps of her clothing, so much so that it was necessary to defend her mortal remains against the importunities of those present. The bishop himself, at the head of the community, wished to lead the venerable deceased to the place of her burial. At the request of the superior Margaret, she was first transported in a solemn procession to the convent chapel, where all the sisters were admitted to kiss her hand. A cypress wood coffin then received her remains, which

BLESSED BERNARD OF BADEN, CONFESSOR.

were committed to the earth, after a final farewell and the bishop's blessing.

On May 29 of the year 1453, eighteen years after her death, the walls of the chapel of the convent of Saint Francis, in Foligno, where she rested, appeared to all eyes to be dripping with blood; the onlookers, frightened, begged the Lord to spare them the misfortunes that such a dire event seemed to portend. But the following year Angeline appeared to several pious souls and revealed to them that Europe was in immense danger, for Constantinople, that bulwark of the East, was about to fall into Constantinople Historical event prophesied by Angeline after her death. the power of the Turks, to the great misfortune of Christendom, which would be powerless to avert the peril. Such was the meaning of the oozing of blood on the walls. The bishop immediately ordered public prayers; but a few days later it was learned that at the very moment indicated by Angeline, the Turks had seized Constantinople.

## CULT AND RELICS. In 1492, on the anniversary of her death, she appeared to a Friar Minor and ordered him to notify his superior as well as his other brothers that they were to exhume her body and place it before the altar of their chapel; and to give more weight to this revelation, she healed him of intolerable pains that had confined him to his bed for three months. The exhumation took place with great pomp, in the presence of all the communities of Foligno; the body was placed before the altar, supported by a magnificent pedestal. The chapel was adorned with precious draperies and garlanded with flowers. A wealthy inhabitant of the city had a crystal reliquary made, which received the body permanently. This reliquary was placed in a coffin of fragrant wood and exposed to the veneration of the faithful. Pope Leo XII approved her cult Léon XII Pope who proceeded with the beatification of Julian. on March 5, 1825, and fixed her feast day on July 15, the day on which she is honored by the entire Order of Friars Minor and by all the pious souls of Foligno, Florence, and Civitella. Acta Sanctorum. — Cf. Wadding; Godescard and Histoire des ordres monastiques, by Fr. Hélyot.