HANCEVILLE, Ala. — “God was always full of surprises when it came to Mother Angelica,” Father Joseph Mary Wolfe of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word said during his homily at her funeral Mass on April 1.

One surprise was the day — the First Friday of the month, which honors Christ in a significant way, as Mother Angelica always did. And the next day was to be a First Saturday, with its emphasis on Mary and the Rosary, which Mother Angelica did in her life and in her work with the Eternal Word Television Network. And the day after that was Divine Mercy Sunday, the message of which Mother Angelica joyfully promoted as head of EWTN.

Surely the mourners who filled the shrine’s pews and the extra chairs along the nave’s sides, plus the faithful gathered on the piazza outside, had such thoughts.

The mourners in attendance were estimated at 2,000 strong, and the Christian burial was broadcast to millions of homes via EWTN television, radio and Internet live-streaming.

Eight archbishops and bishops celebrated her funeral Mass — including Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, the main celebrant, an EWTN board member since 1994. Archbishop Carlo Viganò, the Vatican nuncio to the United States conveyed a message of condolence from Pope Francis highlighting Mother’s “service to the Gospel” and commending her soul to God. Also in attendance: Birmingham’s Bishop Robert Baker and Bishop Emeritus David Foley and Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix. Dozens of priests also came, led by the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word founded by Mother Angelica. Other assorted priests in attendance were EWTN hosts and guests, all concelebrating in a solemn liturgy.

The stained-glass angels lining the clerestory windows in the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament formed an honor guard for the funeral, adorning the beautiful temple Mother was inspired to build for Our Lord, her Eucharistic Jesus and the Divino Nino (Divine Child Jesus), one of Mother’s biggest devotions.

The Easter timing of Mother’s passing necessitated that the first reading be changed, as the Church does not allow readings from the Office of the Dead during the Easter Octave. The new reading was from Revelation, where St. John said he “saw a new heaven and a new earth” — a nod to the prayerful hope that Mother was fully alive in Christ in a new heaven.

“Her legacy is a legacy of his work in her,” Father Joseph said in his homily, referencing her deep commitment to Christ. “The divinity of Jesus must be upheld,” he explained of Mother’s motivation to start EWTN. “He is the Eternal Word, the Divine Son of God. He is the Bridegroom of the Church, and thus hers.”

Mother paired her belief with action. “As a faithful bride, she would defend the One she was wed to,” the homilist made clear. “It was love for Jesus that impelled her.”

He related how Mother Angelica said after a healing through the intercession of St. Thérèse, “God knew me and loved me. I wanted to give myself to Jesus.”

“Problems and challenges did not discourage Mother,” he reminded. “She saw them as opportunities. What seemed like setbacks often turned out to be something bigger and better.”

Indeed, Mother’s own words were still teaching the masses during her funeral.

Listeners broke into knowing smiles when Father Joseph added, “Mother was not afraid to do what seemed ridiculous. Her only fear was not to do God’s will.”

Also touching was the reverence of the children; one family, with two girls, three boys and a tiny tot, the oldest no more than 8, were handsomely dressed for the solemn occasion and perfectly attentive.

It was another reminder that a big part of Mother Angelica’s legacy includes her teaching about the “call to holiness being attainable for everyone,” as Father Joseph pointed out. She “cared deeply about the ordinary person,” and “hers was a practical spirituality for the man in the pew.”

At one point in the homily, he quoted Sister Mary Michael, who came to Alabama with Mother Angelica in 1962, from a Register article that ran online after Mother’s passing (also on page B1). Mother had a “wealth of spiritual knowledge,” Father Joseph related of Sister Michael’s remembrances, combined with “experience” and “common sense,” he said, and she had a gift for seeing the “root of the problem.”

The homily also quoted a letter of condolence that EWTN CEO Michael Warsaw received from Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the archbishop of Krakow and former secretary to Pope St. John Paul II: “She left an indelible mark on the Catholic Church and the world as a whole” (see page 16).

 

Love of Liturgy

The funeral Mass reflected Mother’s love and reverence for the liturgy.

Archbishop Chaput celebrated the novus ordo Mass ad orientem, and some parts were in Latin. While there were different Communion stations because of the overflow crowd, bishops distributed holy Communion at the altar rail to kneeling communicants.

Father Andrew Apostoli of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, longtime EWTN host and a concelebrant, offered some reflections on the funeral Mass.

“Death always has the element of sorrow because of separation, but somehow it seemed overshadowed by a sense of the greatness of Mother’s life in dedication to God and her love for his people,” he told the Register. “It gave me a feeling — here was a woman who served God so faithfully and stepped out in absolute faith to begin her community down in the South, and then to begin the Eternal Word Television Network — that it points to someone resembling Our Lady, who said ‘Yes’ to his plan with great faith and trust. So the Mass had about it a sense of such joy and hope because of her life.”

Father Apostoli noted that at Mass God is always present in the Eucharist, yet he noticed this “Mass had about it a great sense of God’s presence. There was no doubt about it. There had to be a special presence of God for someone who served him so faithfully and carried her personal crosses and struggles so cheerfully.”

“She was so close to God and our Blessed Lady,” he concluded.

In his homily, Father Joseph also made reference to one of Mother’s favorite Scriptures, 2 Corinthians 3:18, which is written on her tomb in the lower crypt church of her shrine: “And we, with our veiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect. This is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.”

 

Spiritual Mother

“Mother Angelica was a spiritual mother to the Church and a mother to us,” said Sharon Willoughby, one of the mourners who came to the shrine in the days leading to the funeral. “She saw us through difficult spiritual times, and she gave us hope to become that Church the gates of hell will not prevail against.”

Willoughby emphasized the way Mother Angelica touched people. “She spoke to each of us as if there were only one of us before her,” she said. “And she guided children to see the beauty and truth of the faith and to live for the truth.”

Rene and Gina Valdez drove up from Texas with her mother, Georgina Resendiz. At first, it was to be a pilgrimage. When they found out the news of Mother Angelica’s death, they made the trip just to be there, said Gina.

Rene observed Mother’s life teaches a major spiritual lesson: “She never gave up in her trials and tribulations and gave us the example to follow.”

Many others traveled to pay their respects to Mother. Rachel Rojo drove with her four young children from a New Orleans suburb. Her husband, Matias, could not come due to work, but he knew how much Mother Angelica meant to his wife.

“Ever since I was a child, my grandmother used to listen to Mother Angelica,” Rojo said. “We used to pray the Rosary every night with her. Mother really sustained my faith.”

That early example and foundation from her grandmother and Mother Angelica became a solid foundation when, as a teen, Rojo briefly fell away from the Catholic faith.

Her children — 9-year-old Catalina, 7-year-old Mateo, 4-year-old Rosario and 2-year-old Valentino — were dressed in their Sunday best and would have been an instant hit with Mother Angelica.

As young as they are, the Rojo children pray the Rosary regularly with EWTN — alternating with the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

“She has affected so many lives,” Rojo added.

Some didn’t have far to travel to pay their respects. Living near the shrine, Lisa Fuchs and her family regularly attend services. Mother Angelica and the nuns have had a major effect on the Fuchs family.

“The reverence here has really edified the family,” Fuchs explained. “Living here has strengthened our faith.”

Inspiring people to deeper faith was always Mother’s mission.

“I think everyone here wants to be a saint,” Father Joseph said in his homily.

“Mother helped us to believe that it is attainable.”

 

EWTN photo