Mother Angelica facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Reverend Mother
Mary Angelica
PCPA
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| Born |
Rita Antoinette Rizzo
April 20, 1923 |
| Died | March 27, 2016 (aged 92) Hanceville, Alabama, U.S.
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| Other names | Mary Angelica of the Annunciation |
| Occupation | Religious sister |
| Known for | Founding EWTN |
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Notable credit(s)
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Mother Angelica Live (1983–2001) |
Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation (born Rita Antoinette Rizzo; April 20, 1923 – March 27, 2016), also known as Mother Angelica, was an American Roman Catholic nun. She belonged to the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. She was famous for her TV show Mother Angelica Live.
Mother Angelica founded the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). This is a big international TV network for Catholics. She also started the radio network WEWN. EWTN became a very important voice for Catholics all over the world.
In 1981, Mother Angelica began broadcasting religious shows. She started in a garage in Birmingham, Alabama. Over the next 20 years, she built a huge media network. It included radio, TV, and internet channels, plus print materials. She hosted shows on EWTN until she had a stroke in 2001. She lived in a monastery in Hanceville, Alabama, until she passed away in 2016.
Contents
Early Life of Mother Angelica
Mother Angelica was born Rita Antoinette Rizzo on April 20, 1923. She grew up in Canton, Ohio. Her family was of Italian-American background. Her father left the family when Rita was only five years old. Her parents divorced two years later.
Her mother, Mae Helen Rizzo, struggled with sadness and poverty. It was hard for divorced women to find work back then. This was especially true during the Great Depression. Rita described her childhood as very difficult. She and her mother were "poor, hungry, and barely surviving." They often lived with her grandparents.
Rita's School Days
Rita went to a Catholic school. She did not like the nuns there. She felt they were very strict because her parents were divorced. Later, she went to McKinley High School. She was one of the first drum majorettes there.
Rita said she did not do well in school. She was not interested in her studies. She also did not make close friends. This was partly because she worried about upsetting her mother. Rita never went on dates. She felt that married life was not for her, based on her parents' experience.
In 1939, Rita started feeling overwhelmed at school. She was given medicine for a nervous condition. She graduated from McKinley High School in 1941.
Becoming a Nun
Rita had a stomach problem that caused her much pain since 1939. Her mother took her to Rhoda Wise, a woman known for visions. Wise told Rita to pray for nine days. She also asked Rita to promise to tell others about Thérèse of Lisieux if she got better.
On January 17, 1943, Rita said her pain was gone. The lump in her stomach had vanished. She believed God had performed a miracle. This event made her want to give her life to God. She said, "All I wanted to do after my healing was give myself to Jesus."
One evening in 1944, Rita felt God was calling her to be a nun. She visited several convents. She felt at home at Saint Paul's Shrine of Perpetual Adoration in Cleveland. This was a place for cloistered nuns who prayed all the time. She joined them on August 15, 1944, when she was 21.
On November 8, 1945, Rita became a Poor Clare nun. She received a new name: "Sister Mary Angelica of the Annunciation." Soon after, she moved to a new monastery in her hometown of Canton.
A Life-Changing Accident
In 1946, as a young nun, Angelica had an accident. A floor-scrubbing machine injured her spine. This caused her pain for the rest of her life. She had to wear leg braces. Angelica saw this accident as a sign from God. She promised Jesus she would build a new monastery in the Southern United States if she recovered.
On January 2, 1947, Angelica made her first vows as a nun. In 1953, she made her final vows.
Our Lady of the Angels Monastery
Mother Angelica wanted to create a religious community. She wanted it to welcome African Americans in the southern states. In 1957, a bishop suggested she open it in Birmingham. She and other Poor Clare nuns worked to raise money. They even made and sold fishing lures!
In 1961, the nuns bought land and a building. In 1962, the community was officially started. It was called Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. It was first in Irondale, Alabama. Later, it moved to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament
In 1995, Mother Angelica visited Colombia. There, she felt she was told to build a church to honor the Child Jesus. People donated a lot of money, about $48.6 million. She opened the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville in 1999.
Founding EWTN
In 1962, Mother Angelica started holding meetings about Catholicism. She also began recording her talks to sell. A bishop noticed she was good at talking to people. He encouraged her to continue. She started a radio show and published her first book in 1972.
In the late 1970s, she began videotaping her talks for TV. These were shown on the Christian Broadcasting Network. In 1981, she visited a TV studio in Chicago. She was so impressed that she decided to start her own network. She formed the non-profit EWTN corporation. She first recorded her shows in a garage at the monastery.
EWTN became a voice for traditional Catholics in America. It often shared views similar to Pope John Paul II. Mother Angelica's focus on tradition sometimes led to disagreements with other Catholic leaders. EWTN is now the largest Catholic television network in the world. It reaches about 264 million homes globally.
Starting WEWN Radio
On December 28, 1992, Mother Angelica launched a radio network called WEWN. This network is carried by 215 radio stations. It is also available on shortwave radio.
Later Years and Health
In the late 1990s, Mother Angelica's EWTN show was very popular. She stepped down from leading EWTN in 2000. She gave control to a group of people who were not nuns. In 2001, she had one of several strokes.
Illness and Passing Away
Mother Angelica returned to taping her show twice a week on September 25, 2001. On Christmas Eve, she had another stroke. This stroke caused her right side to be partly paralyzed. It also affected her speech. She stopped hosting TV programs and began speech therapy. As her health got worse, the other nuns at her monastery in Hanceville took care of her all the time.
On October 4, 2009, Mother Angelica received a special medal from Pope Benedict XVI. It was called the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice. This medal is given for great service to the Catholic Church. She received the award in her room because she was too ill to attend a ceremony.
In December 2015, Mother Angelica needed a feeding tube. A representative said she was a "fighter." She was mostly sleeping but could communicate by squeezing a hand or moving her eyes. She had said before that she wanted to live as long as possible. She believed that every day she suffered, she suffered for God.
In February 2016, Pope Francis sent a message to Mother Angelica. He said, "To Mother Angelica with my blessing and I ask you to pray for me; I need it. God bless you Mother Angelica."
Mother Angelica passed away on March 27, 2016. It was Easter Sunday. She was 92 years old. She died from problems caused by the stroke she had 14 years earlier. She also had other health issues like Bell's palsy, heart disease, and asthma.
Mother Angelica believed in redemptive suffering. This means that human suffering can be meaningful if it is offered to Jesus Christ. Because of this belief, she asked her nuns to keep her alive. She wanted to suffer for God.
A chaplain from EWTN said Mother Angelica's wish was fulfilled. He said she cried out in pain on Good Friday. But after 3:00 p.m., she became more peaceful. On Easter Sunday morning, she was struggling. She received her last communion. She passed away shortly before 5:00 p.m.
Tributes to Mother Angelica
Many people honored Mother Angelica after her death. Sean O. Sheridan, who was president of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, called her "a true media giant." He said she showed that the Church belonged in popular media.
Mark Evans of Deadline wrote that Mother Angelica's talks were often funny. She once said the nuns from her childhood were "the meanest people on God's earth."
On March 30, 2016, in St. Peter's Square, Rome, someone held up a picture of Mother Angelica. Pope Francis saw it and said, "she's in Heaven."
Mother Angelica's body was brought to Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. People could visit her at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Her funeral Mass was held on April 1. Many important Catholic leaders attended. The funeral was shown on EWTN.
Calls for Sainthood
After Mother Angelica died, many people wanted her to be made a saint. Catholic Church rules say that the process for sainthood cannot start until five years after a person has died. As of September 2022, there has been no official announcement about starting this process for Mother Angelica.
Images for kids
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Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN
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The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, built by Mother Angelica
See also
In Spanish: Madre Angélica para niños
