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Mother Angelica

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The ReverendMother
Mary Angelica
PCPA
Born
Rita Antoinette Rizzo

(1923-04-20)April 20, 1923
Canton,Ohio,U.S.
DiedMarch 27, 2016(2016-03-27)(aged 92)
Hanceville,Alabama,U.S.
Other namesMary Angelica of the Annunciation
OccupationReligious sister
Known forFoundingEWTN
Notable creditMother Angelica Live(1983–2001)[1][2]

Mother Mary Angelica of the AnnunciationPCPA[3](bornRita Antoinette Rizzo;April 20, 1923 – March 27, 2016), commonly known asMother Angelica,was an American Roman Catholicnunof thePoor Clares of Perpetual Adoration.She was best known for the television showMother Angelica Live.She was the founder of the international broadcast cable television networkEternal Word Television Network(EWTN) and the radio networkWEWN.EWTN became a voice for Catholics worldwide.

In 1981, Angelica started broadcasting religious programs from a converted garage inBirmingham,Alabama.Over the next twenty years, she developed a media network that included radio, TV, and internet channels as well as print media. Angelica hosted shows on EWTN until she had a stroke in 2001. She continued to live in thecloisteredmonastery inHanceville,Alabama, until her death in 2016.[4]

Early life

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Mother Angelica was born Rita Antoinette Rizzo on April 20, 1923, inCanton,Ohio,[5]in a community of Italian immigrant mill workers.[citation needed]OfItalian-Americanbackground, fromCapriati a Volturno,Campania,she was the only child of John and Mae Helen Rizzo (néeGianfrancesco).[6]Her father, a tailor by trade, abandoned the family when Rizzo was only five,[7][8]and her parents divorced two years later.[9]On March 10, 1931, her mother was granted custody of her, and her father was ordered to pay five dollars a week in child support.[10]Her mother only received "intermittent child-support payments from the father."[9]While maintaining full custody, her mother struggled with chronic depression and poverty.[11]This was in part because being a divorcée carried a social stigma at the time and the opportunities for a woman to secure income were limited especially in the height of theGreat Depression.[10]

Looking back at her childhood, Angelica described herself and her mother as being "like a pair of refugees":[8]"We were poor, hungry, and barely surviving on odd jobs until Mother joined the dry cleaning business as an apprentice to a Jewish tailor in our area. Even then, we pinched pennies just to keep food on the table."[12]The pair lived with her maternal grandparents, moving out for a time between 1933 and 1937, but were forced to return because of financial pressures.[13]Matters were complicated when her grandfather, Anthony Gianfrancesco, suffered a stroke in their absence, which paralyzed him on one side and required him to use a cane.[14]

Education

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Rizzo attended a parochial school, but disliked the nuns there, whom she recalled as being "the meanest people on earth" and treating her with harsh discipline due to her parents' divorce.[8]She then attended Canton'sMcKinley High School,where she was one of the school's first drummajorettes.[11]She later told an interviewer, "I did very poorly in school. I wasn't interested in the capital of Ohio. I was interested in whether my mother had committed suicide that day."[9]Rizzo developed no intimate friendships in high school, partly because of her fear that it would further upset her mother, who saw other demands for attention as a threat.[14]Rizzo never dated, recalling later, "I never had a date, never wanted one. I just didn't have any desire. I suppose having experienced the worst of married life, it was not at all attractive to me."[15]

In 1939, Rizzo, feeling overwhelmed by crowd noise and school chatter, began to leave McKinley High in the afternoons.[15]She was given calcium and nerve medication to treat what was deemed a nervous condition.[15]When her mother's mental condition seemed to worsen, she made arrangements with her grandparents to have her sent toPhiladelphiato be with a relative.[16]Rizzo graduated from McKinley High School in 1941.[17]

Adulthood

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A stomach ailment that Rizzo had from 1939 continued to cause severe abdominal pain, despite the extensive medical treatment she received. Her mother took her toRhoda Wisewho was hailed as a mystic and stigmatic and "who claimed to receive visions of StThérèse of Lisieux."[9]Wise instructed Rizzo to pray anovena(a nine-day course of prayers) and made the girl promise that she would spread devotion to the saint if she was cured.

On January 17, 1943, following the novena's final day, Rizzo declared that she woke up with little pain and the abdominal lump causing it had vanished.[18]This experience profoundly touched her; she believed that God had performed amiracleand she traced her lifelong commitment to God to this event.[12][19][page needed][20]She later told an interviewer "[at that point] I knew that God knew me and loved me and was interested in me. All I wanted to do after my healing was give myself to Jesus."[9]

One evening in 1944, Rizzo stopped at a church to pray and felt that God was calling her to be anun.She sought guidance from a local parish priest who encouraged her to begin visiting convents. Her first visit was to theSisters of St. JosephinBuffalo,New York,but the active congregation felt that she was better suited to contemplative life. She also visited Saint Paul's Shrine of Perpetual Adoration, a facility operated by an order ofcloisteredcontemplative nuns, located inCleveland,Ohio. When visiting this order, she felt as if she were at home. The order accepted her as apostulant,inviting her to enter on August 15, 1944. She was 21 years old.[21]

On November 8, 1945, Rizzo was vested as aPoor Clarenun. She received a new name, which her Mother Superior had chosen for her, and title, "Sister Mary Angelica of the Annunciation".[citation needed]Soon afterwards, the Cleveland monastery established a new monastery in her home town of Canton and she moved there.[12]

In 1946, as a young nun, Angelica had an accident with an industrialfloor-scrubbing machinethat knocked her over and injured her spine, causing her ongoing pain and requiring her to wear leg braces for most of her life.[22][23][24]Angelica saw the accident as a divine sign and promised Jesus to build a new monastery deep in the Protestant-dominatedSouthern United Statesif she recovered.[9]

After nearly three years in the monastery, Angelica made her first profession of vows on January 2, 1947.[25]In 1953, she made her solemn profession of vows at Sancta Clara Monastery in Ohio.[26]

Our Lady of the Angels

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While at Sancta Clara, Angelica was inspired to create a religious community which would appeal to African Americans in the southern states and began to seek support.[26]In 1957, ArchbishopThomas Toolensuggested that she open this community in Birmingham.[26]With a number of other Poor Clare nuns she worked to raise the necessary funds, partially from a small business venture making and selling fishing lures.[26]In 1961, the nuns bought a building and land, and in 1962, the community was officially established. It was named Our Lady of the Angels Monastery and located inIrondale,Alabama.[21]Later it was relocated to the grounds of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.[27]The subject experiencedthe Baptism of the Holy Spiritwhich a Birmingham priest associated with thecharismatic movementhad told her about, which resulted in a new understanding of theHoly Spirit.[28]

Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament

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Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament,Hanceville

In 1995, Angelica visitedColombia,where she had a vision that told her to build a temple in honor of the Child Jesus. Private donors contributed $48.6 million and she opened theShrine of the Most Blessed Sacramentin Hanceville in 1999.[26]

EWTN

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In 1962, Angelica began a series of community meetings on matters relevant to Catholicism and also began recording her talks for sale. BishopJoseph Vathnoticed her talent for communicating with the lay public and encouraged her to continue; she began taping a radio show for broadcast on Sunday mornings and published her first book in 1972. In the late 1970s she began videotaping her talks for television, which were broadcast on the satelliteChristian Broadcasting Network.[20]In 1981, after visiting aChicagotelevision studio and being impressed by its capability, she formed the non-profitEWTNcorporation.[26][failed verification]Initially, she recorded her shows in a converted garage on the monastery's property.[27]

EWTN became a voice for American conservatism and traditional Catholics, with its position on religious and social issues often mirroring that ofPope John Paul II.[29]Angelica's emphasis on tradition led to feuds with some members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Most famous is the feud over a pastoral letter written by CardinalRoger Mahonyof theArchdiocese of Los Angelesover teachings surrounding theEucharistand theliturgy.[30]

The largest Roman Catholic television network in the world,[31]EWTN estimates the network's channels reach 264 million households globally.[32]

WEWN

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On December 28, 1992, Angelica launched a radio network,WEWN,[33]which is carried by 215 stations, as well as on shortwave.[34]

Later years

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On November 12, 1997, Angelica, on herMother Angelica Liveshow, called on the faithful under CardinalRoger Mahonyto disobey the cardinal'sGuide for Sunday Mass,saying "I'm afraid my obedience in that diocese would be absolutely zero, and I hope everybody else's in that diocese is zero."[35]On November 18, Angelica apologized.[35]

In the late 1990s, her EWTN show was so popular that she occasionally was the victim of live, call-in pranks byCaptain Jankswhich were aired onThe Howard Stern Show.Most of these calls were of a vulgar, sexual nature, but she handled them with her usual stern, but forgiving candor.[citation needed]

Angelica stepped down from control of EWTN in 2000 and handed control to a board of lay people. In 2001 she had one of severalstrokes.[27]

Illness and death

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Angelica returned to taping her show twice a week on September 25, 2001. On Christmas Eve, she suffered another stroke and underwent athrombectomyto remove a blood clot, a procedure that resulted in improvement of her vision. The stroke caused partial paralysis of the right side of her body and affected her speech. She began speech therapy and stopped hosting television programs.[36]As her health declined, fellow sisters of her order in Hanceville began providing her with constant care.[37]

On October 4, 2009, Angelica and DeaconBill Steltemeier,then chairman of EWTN's board of governors, received the papal medal (Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice) fromPope Benedict XVIfor their distinguished service to the Catholic Church.[38][27]Because of her ill health, Angelica received the award in her room.[39]BishopRobert J. Bakerof theDiocese of Birminghamsaid: "Mother Angelica's effort has been at the vanguard of thenew evangelizationand has had a great impact on our world. "[39]

In early December 2015, Angelica was placed on a feeding tube. A representative for her order explained, "It's not that she's completely unable to eat. It's assisting her to get the nutrients she needs." He added that she had experienced "some up and downs the last few months. She's a fighter." Although Angelica was confined to her bed, a representative said that she was "able to communicate with a squeeze of a hand, make gestures with her eyes. She acknowledges people when they're there. The nuns say she does sleep a lot."[23][40]The use of a feeding tube was in accord with the wishes she made before her stroke in 2001 – a reporter recalled her saying: "We don't understand the awesomeness of living even one more day... I told my sisters the other day, 'When I get really bad give me all the medicine I can take, all the tubes you can stuff down me.... I want to live.... Because I will have suffered one more day for the love of God... I will exercise you in virtue. But most of all I will know God better. You cannot measure the value of one new thought about God in your own life.'"[37]

In early February 2016Pope Francis,while en route to Cuba, recorded a message for Angelica, saying: "To Mother Angelica with my blessing and I ask you to pray for me; I need it. God bless you Mother Angelica."[23]Near the end of that month, her fellow nuns at Our Lady of Angels Monastery called for prayers on her behalf saying that "Mother's condition remains delicate and she receives devoted care day and night by her sisters and nurses. In God's Providence, she was able to receive the special Jubilee grace of passing through the Holy Door shortly after its opening. Although she is most often sleeping, from time to time Mother will give a radiant smile.... Please continue to keep her in your prayers; each day is a gift!"[41]

Angelica remained living at the monastery until her death on March 27, 2016 (Easter Sunday), at the age of 92, from complications due to the stroke she had 14 years prior.[42]At the time, she "also suffered fromBell's palsy,heart disease and asthma. "[22]

Angelica held the Catholic belief inredemptive suffering,[43]the belief human suffering can become meritorious if offered toJesus Christand mystically united with his suffering. Because of this belief, in her period of declining health, Angelica "instructed her nuns to do everything to keep her alive, no matter how much she suffered, because every day she suffered, she suffered for God."[22]EWTN chaplain Joseph Mary Wolfe told reporters that Angelica's desire to unite with Jesus in suffering was fulfilled when she "went into her death throes on Good Friday".[22]

Wolfe recalled that "Mother began to cry out early in the morning from the pain that she was having. She had a fracture in her bones because of the length of time she had been bedridden. They said you could hear it down the hallways, that she was crying out on Good Friday from what she was going through. These two people [a caregiver and one of the sisters of her order] said to me she has excruciating pain."[22]Wolfe said that "After the 3 o'clock hour arrived on Good Friday she was more calm, she was more peaceful."[22]By 5:30 a.m. on Easter Sunday, Wolfe was contacted by Mother Delores, who told him that Angelica "was really struggling, she wasn't doing very well."[22]Wolfe went to her bedside to administer the Catholiclast riteswith the sisters of her order in attendance. The sisters prayed their morning prayers, theDivine Office,around her bed. As it was Easter, the prayer was liturgically required to containAlleluias,which are usually not contained in the office for the dead – a fact that Wolfe felt had significance. Around 10:30 a.m., Father Paschal offeredMassin her room and she received her last communion (Viaticum). She died shortly before 5:00 p.m.[22]

Tributes

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Sean O. Sheridan, the former president of theFranciscan University of Steubenvillewhere Angelica received anhonorary doctorateof sacred theology, described her as "a true media giant. She proved that the Church belonged in the popular media alongside the news, sports, and talk shows".[32][44]Mark Evans ofDeadlinewrote, "Though her stances were decidedly old-school – she was critical of religious and political progressives – her lectures were lightened with an often self-deprecating humor. She famously said the nuns she remembered from her youth were 'the meanest people on God's earth.'"[32]

On March 30, 2016, at a general audience inSt. Peter's Square, Rome,an employee of EWTN held up a portrait of Angelica and Pope Francis responded to the display by saying "she's in Heaven".

In a ceremony on March 29, 2016, Angelica's body was brought to the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery for private visitation by the Poor Clare nuns. Public visitation occurred at the upper church of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament on March 30–31. TheMass of Christian Burialat the shrine's upper church took place on April 1 with theArchbishop of Philadelphiaand EWTN board memberCharles J. Chaputserving as principal celebrant and the EWTN chaplain Joseph Mary Wolfe as thehomilist.Robert J. BakerandDavid E. Foley,the current and emeritusBishops of Birmingham(where both EWTN and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery are located), respectively, concelebrated theMass,along with ArchbishopThomas J. RodiofMobile(whoseecclesiastical provinceincludes the Diocese of Birmingham), BishopThomas OlmstedofPhoenix,BishopRichard F. StikaofKnoxville,and ArchbishopCarlo Maria Viganò,theApostolic Nuncio to the United States,who delivered a message from Pope Francis. In addition, many priests, deacons, religious, and seminarians were in attendance. This was followed by therite of committalat the shrine's crypt chapel. All the funeral rites were televised on EWTN.[45][46]

Cause for canonization

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After Angelica's death in 2016, there were calls from many for her to be canonized. Catholic Church rules dictate that a person's cause for sainthood cannot begin until five years after the person has died.[47]As of September 2022, there has been no announcement from theDiocese of Birminghamwhether a petition will be sent to Rome to begin a cause for her canonization.

References

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  1. ^Arroyo 2005,pp. 315–317;Wallace 2016.
  2. ^Garrison, Greg (September 16, 2016)."Irondale Names Road for Mother Angelica".AL.Alabama Media Group.RetrievedJuly 12,2021.
  3. ^Schlumpf, Heidi (July 19, 2019)."How Mother Angelica's 'miracle of God' became a global media empire".National Catholic Reporter.RetrievedNovember 2,2021.
  4. ^Morton, Victor (March 28, 2016)."Mother Angelica Dies on Easter Sunday".The Washington Times.RetrievedMarch 28,2016.
  5. ^Arroyo 2005,p. 5;Wallace 2019.
  6. ^O'Neill 1986,pp. 11–12.
  7. ^Arroyo 2005,pp. 6–7;Wallace 2019.
  8. ^abc"Mother Angelica".The Times.London. March 29, 2016. p. 45.ProQuest1776293805.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  9. ^abcdef"Mother Angelica, Television Nun – Obituary".The Telegraph.London. March 29, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon April 24, 2016.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  10. ^abArroyo 2005,p. 15.
  11. ^abGoshay, Charita (October 8, 2010)."Canton Events Celebrate Mother Angelica's Life and Ministry".The Repository.Canton, Ohio: Gatehouse Media.Archivedfrom the original on April 9, 2016.RetrievedMarch 28,2016.
  12. ^abc"Biography".Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration: Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. Archived fromthe originalon April 4, 2016.RetrievedApril 4,2016.
  13. ^Arroyo 2005,pp. 15, 19.
  14. ^abArroyo 2005,p. 19.
  15. ^abcArroyo 2005,p. 20.
  16. ^Arroyo 2005,pp. 20–21.
  17. ^O'Neill 1986,p. 31.
  18. ^Arroyo 2005,pp. 31–32.
  19. ^Arroyo 2005.
  20. ^abVitello, Paul(March 27, 2016)."Mother Mary Angelica, Who Founded Catholic TV Network, Dies at 92".The New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon March 31, 2016.RetrievedMarch 29,2016.
  21. ^ab"Mother Angelica, Founder of EWTN, Dead at 92".Fox News.March 27, 2016.RetrievedMarch 28,2016.
  22. ^abcdefghGarrison, Greg (March 29, 2016)."Mother Angelica's Last Days: Priest Describes Her Suffering, Death on Easter".AL.Alabama Media Group. Archived fromthe originalon March 31, 2016.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  23. ^abcGarrison, Greg (February 12, 2016)."Pope Francis to Mother Angelica: 'Pray for Me'".AL.Alabama Media Group. Archived fromthe originalon February 14, 2016.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  24. ^Drake, Tim (March 29, 2016) [January 14, 2001]."Mother Angelica: She Left Hell and Took to the Air".National Catholic Register.Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2016.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  25. ^"A Tribute to Mother Angelica".Living Bread Radio Network.
  26. ^abcdefWallace 2019.
  27. ^abcd"EWTN Celebrates Mother Angelica's 90th Birthday".Catholic News Agency.EWTN Global Catholic Network.RetrievedMarch 29,2016.
  28. ^M. Angelica and Raymond Arroyo. (2007). Mother Angelica's little book of life lessons and everyday spirituality."Introduction" p. xi f. New York, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 9780385519854.
  29. ^Reeves, Jay (April 6, 2005)."Catholic View of Pope's Death".Los Angeles Times.Associated Press. Archived fromthe originalon November 6, 2012.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  30. ^"Mother Angelica on Mahony".Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission.January 1998. Archived fromthe originalon September 28, 2007.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  31. ^Hudnut-Beumler 2018,p. 184.
  32. ^abcEvans, Greg (March 29, 2016)."Mother Mary Angelica Dies; Religious Network Star & Founder Was 92".Deadline.RetrievedMarch 29,2016.
  33. ^Arroyo 2005,p. 232.
  34. ^Drake, Tim (December 28, 2012)."A Signal for the New Evangelization".National Catholic Register.Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2017.RetrievedMarch 29,2016.
  35. ^abDart, John (December 6, 1997)."Nun Apologizes for TV Criticism of Mahony".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  36. ^"Doctors Say Mother Angelica Shows Remarkable Improvement and Will Be Moved out of Intensive Care Tomorrow"(Press release). Irondale, Alabama: EWTN Global Catholic Network. January 15, 2002. Archived fromthe originalon September 8, 2004.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  37. ^abHrynkiw, Ivana (March 27, 2016)."Mother Angelica, Founder of EWTN, Dies on Easter Sunday".AL.Alabama Media Group. Archived fromthe originalon March 29, 2016.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  38. ^"Papal award validates mission of EWTN, says CEO".Catholic News Agency.
  39. ^ab"Mother Angelica, Founder of EWTN, Dies After Long Illness".The Michigan Catholic.Detroit, Michigan: Archdiocese of Detroit. Catholic News Service. March 28, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon March 28, 2016.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  40. ^"Mother Angelica Remains on Feeding Tube, Confined to Bed at Monastery".National Catholic Reporter.Kansas City, Missouri. Catholic News Service. December 1, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on February 24, 2021.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  41. ^Garrison, Greg (February 23, 2016)."EWTN Founder Mother Angelica Remains in 'Delicate' Condition".AL.Alabama Media Group. Archived fromthe originalon February 25, 2016.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  42. ^"Mother Angelica Dies on Easter Sunday at 92".ChurchPOP.March 28, 2016.RetrievedMarch 28,2016.
  43. ^M. Angelica (1999)."Excerpts from 'Healing Power of Suffering'".Irondale, Alabama: EWTN Global Catholic Network. Archived fromthe originalon July 6, 2019.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
  44. ^Sheridan, Sean O. (March 28, 2016)."Statement from Father Sean O. Sheridan, TOR, President of Franciscan University of Steubenville, on the Death of EWTN Foundress Mother Angelica".Steubenville, Ohio: Franciscan University of Steubenville.RetrievedJuly 9,2021.
  45. ^Garrison, Greg (March 30, 2016)."Mother Angelica Will Be Buried Friday at Her Alabama Monastery".AL.Alabama Media Group. Archived fromthe originalon March 31, 2016.RetrievedJuly 9,2021.
  46. ^Mathis, Joel (March 30, 2016)."Chaput to Officiate at Mother Angelica Funeral".Philadelphia.Archived fromthe originalon February 26, 2021.RetrievedJuly 9,2021.
  47. ^"An Indelible Mark".MFVA - Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word.March 26, 2021.RetrievedOctober 3,2021.

Bibliography

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