St Angela Merici: 27th January
Today is the feast day for St Angela Merici the founder of the Ursuline sisters who played an important role in the Cathedral and St Thomas More Parish. During their time the sisters helped re-establish the Company of St Ursula in England which is a secular institute of Pontifical rite and supported mothers with a more informal peer support group the Angelinas.
St Angela Merici
The Company of St Ursula
The Company was founded in 1535 by St Angela Merici who brought women together to support other women to meet together in support, spiritual development and mutual encouragement. The Company offers single or widowed catholic women, the opportunity to live this call from God in the world. Their vocation is described as 'leaven in the dough' and is sustained by a deep life of prayer, which is the foundation for their commitment to the local Church and community. We are fortunate to have several members in our parish as well as other parishes in the Diocese.
The Angelinas
Although an informal group that was active during the time of the Ursuline sisters time living at St Thomas More, the vision and reality of the group was to allow mothers, especially of young children, to come together for peer support. They would often meet and take it in turns to share a meal, their lives and some prayer inspired by the teachings of St Angela Merici whose life is an inspiration to many women. More recently, we've had some online meetings to allow mothers who may need to be at home in the evening to still gather together and catch up. The group will be meeting on the 1st Tuesday of each month and will be discussing in February ways of organising in person gatherings.