A Short History of the Life of Blessed Angela of Foligno

Foligno

Blessed Angela of Foligno’s early life – we celebrate her feast day on January 8 - reflected in many ways Francis of Assisi’s days of youth. Both the young Francis and the young Angela lived for themselves – focusing only on the things that gave them pleasure. Married as a very young woman, Angela is also said to have been adulterous and wild tempered.

When her family died however, Angela changed. At 37 years of age (in 1285) she began praying to St. Francis of Assisi who appeared to her in a vision and offered her his guidance. This conversion experience brought her into contact with a Franciscan friar named Arnoldo who listened to the story and wrote it down on paper exactly as Angela dictated it to him. At around this time Angela entered the Third Order of St. Francis.

Angela of Foligno's burial place

Word about Angela’s life and devotion spread and attracted to her a number of followers. The new group eventually formed a community in Foligno – Angela’s birthplace. It followed the Rule of the Third Order, but did not live a cloistered existence. Angela and her sisters – much like Francis of Assisi - were interested in going into the community and changing people’s lives for the better.

Another image of Foligno

Angela died in 1309 and was laid to rest in Foligno’s Church of St. Francis. 

(Sources of related photos on webpage and homepage: http://wikimedia.org, enlargingtheheart.wordpress.com, ComeIlMare on flickr.com, and Hengist Decius on flickr.com.)