On May 20, the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration mark the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Mother Angelica’s Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Alabama. Mother Angelica’s Poor Clares are part of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration order which originated in France.
On May 20, 1962, Archbishop Thomas Toolen of Mobile, Ala., dedicated the monastery in Irondale, Ala. Twelve days earlier, on May 8, Mother Angelica, along with four other sisters, left Sancta Clara in Canton, Ohio, for this new foundation of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in the suburbs of Birmingham.
Facing a serious spinal operation, Mother Angelica — who celebrated her 89th birthday on April 20 — had promised to build a monastery for Our Lord in the South if he allowed her to walk again.
Sister Mary Michael has fond memories of those early days. Of the original five nuns who came that May from Ohio to Alabama, she is the only one remaining besides Mother Angelica.
She remembers tearful good-byes in Canton and the drive to Birmingham, where she and the sisters rode in a station wagon with Mae Francis, Mother Angelica’s natural mother, who became the first postulant and later Sister Mary David. Luggage was minimal.
In Canton, the sisters made and sold “St. Peter’s Fishing Lures,” hoping the venture would be the means of supporting themselves in Alabama. After an article about the “The Fishing Lure Nuns” appeared, they “were able to raise enough money to pay for the land in Birmingham,” Sister Mary Michael says.
Monastery Rises
Early in 1961, Mother Angelica and Sister Mary Veronica searched for and found about 15 hillside acres in Irondale. That September, Mother and Sister Mary Joseph returned to Irondale to oversee the monastery’s construction.
“Mother had already made a scale model of the monastery so that the architect had something to go by, and Mother proved to be a very capable contractor, foreman and businesswoman all rolled into one,” Sister Mary Michael recalls. “She won the respect of workmen and businessmen alike, who soon realized they couldn’t pull anything over on her. She could read architect plans as good as anyone. It wasn’t long before wonderful people came by and offered to help, often with big donations. The excavating, all the concrete, block and brick were donated, as well as flooring and kitchen appliances.”
Shortly before dedication day, Joe Bruno, who owned a chain of supermarkets, visited. Mother Angelica gave him a tour and explained to him the sisters’ life of adoration.
“Before he left, he said he would give us our food for a year. He never stopped,” says Sister Mary Michael. “He fed us till the day he died and went to his eternal reward.”
Southern hospitality met divine Providence, it seemed.
“The people of Birmingham received us with open arms, incredible generosity and kindness,” she remembers. “It was Southern hospitality at its best! We were overwhelmed by all their love and support.”
Mother’s ‘Mini Books’
By 1971, with the “charismatic renewal” in full swing and Mother speaking at Scripture conferences locally and charismatic groups nationally, the sisters started duplicating the taped talks.
By 1972, Mother, having recognized the hunger for basic catechesis far and wide, began writing many “mini books.” The sisters printed, packaged and shipped these works by the thousands.
Among them, Sister Marie Emmanuel, who joined the monastery in the late 1960s, ran the printing presses and helped send the mini books and tapes all over the world.
“So, besides being a contemplative, this work made me feel like a real missionary,” she remembers. “We were giving souls food for their spiritual life. It was like lighting the candles of their souls so they could have joy, peace and union with God.”
In the 1970s, she was among the sisters who helped Mother Angelica clean the rocks in front of the monastery, clear trees, and make tier fountains for water to cascade around their statue of Our Lady of the Angels. They finished in time for their Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.
EWTN Launches
The mission expanded on Aug. 15, 1981: The community rejoiced as Mother Angelica launched Eternal Word Television Network in, of all places, the monastery garage. The Register is a service of EWTN.
When Sister Mary Agnes of Jesus entered the monastery in 1986, EWTN was only on the air four hours a day. The sisters answered the phones for Mother Angelica Live and had telethons to keep the station on the air.
“We also opened and read all the mail, which was very time consuming but rewarding,” says Sister Mary Agnes, who has been Mother’s secretary for years, “as we were able to see the fruit of our prayers and how God was using the network to change peoples’ lives for the better.”
Moments With Mother
Sister Mary Agnes’ favorite memory “from this time was being with Mother and the sisters for recreation after supper. We had only 16 sisters at the time, so we would gather around Mother as she opened her Bible and began talking about God, the spiritual life, the example and lives of the saints. The sisters would respond with comments, stories and — many times — much laughter!
“Mother could go from the mundane to the mystical in a minute, for she really did live in the ‘present moment.’ These recreations and Mother’s morning lessons with the community in our refectory were a source of spiritual strength and joy for me and many times an ‘Emmaus’ experience. I would leave the room thinking, Was not my heart burning within me as she opened the Scriptures?”
Sister Mary Michael similarly remembers these moments with Mother: “Over the years, these lessons became some of the most memorable times in our life together. Mother’s well of insights, advice, stories, depth of spirituality never seemed to dry up. She was ever alert to do God’s will, whatever it was, even if it made her look foolish in the eyes of the world. She was never afraid of failure, but only of not doing God’s will.
“Over the years, her spirituality and talents and great desire to spread God’s love would continue to grow and blossom, becoming great blessings for the many individuals who came to the monastery seeking her advice — through her mini books, which we sent free all over the world, and now through television and radio.”
More Milestones
An unforgettable moment came in December 1993, when Mother Angelica and the sisters returned to wearing the full traditional habit. Another milestone was in 1996, as the network grew and the monastery received more vocations. Both needed more room.
Sister Mary Agnes says that Mother, deciding to “ease the squeeze,” bought farming property an hour north in Hanceville, Ala., to build a chapel and monastery. On Dec. 19, 1999, their Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville was consecrated. The sisters had a new home.
Sister Mary Gabriel, one of the 19 sisters now at the monastery, first thought of becoming a nun as a 3-year-old in Vietnam. Attending Mass at the monastery, she got to meet Mother Angelica, and today recalls how “she helped me understand and love God more deeply. I desire to be at his [God’s] feet all the days of my life so that I can intercede for all God’s children throughout the world. We are so blessed to be adorers of the Most Blessed Sacrament.”
In 2000, Sister Mary Agnes asked Mother Angelica, “What was the happiest day of your life?”
“She said that it was the consecration day of the new chapel in our monastery,” recalls Sister Mary Agnes. “Only she could tell you why it was her ‘happiest day,’ but I realized that it was a dream come true for her. She had always desired to give Jesus beautiful things — the best she could give. When she built this temple [as she called it] in honor of the divine Child Jesus, she made it as beautiful as she possibly could and gave him the second-largest monstrance in the world.”
“We who live here now are blest to continue this adoration of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament 24 hours a day,” says Sister Mary Agnes, “in a spirit of reparative thanksgiving, praying for the world and all those souls entrusted to us.”
Joseph Pronechen is the Register’s staff writer.
INFORMATION
A commemorative CD for the Poor Clares’ 50th anniversary is available from EWTNReligiousCatalogue.com. EWTN will televise a live thanksgiving Mass on May 19 at 9am Eastern.
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I thank God for Mother Angelica, her Poor Clare Nuns, and EWTN. They are all such a tremendous source of God’s love and inspiration. I first met Sister Mary Agnes in 2005 on a Pilgrimage from South Florida. For about a year, the Lord had placed the desire in my heart to visit the Shrine in Alabama. After much prayer, He made it very clear to me that I needed to go and provided the means for me to join a pilgrimage group. It has been a tremendous blessing ever since. The Sisters are always there in prayer for us when we need them and are a source of consolation. The Divino Nino is now permanently engraved in my heart and spreads His message of purity and love to all who surround my family and I. We have a 35” image of the Divino Nino which I used to pilgrim to homes with my youth group and is now living in our home. Even my non-catholic husband misses the Divino Nino when He is off visiting another home. Mother Angelica, the Franciscans of the Eternal Word Television Network, and her Sisters are part of our family. May our Holy Lord through His Divine Childhood and our Heavenly Mother Mary always bless, protect, and guide the beautiful work Mother Angelica has begun! Happy Golden Anniversary!!!!!!!!!!
I saw this Mass offered this morning. Love it. Piety, Mantillas… altar boys, AD ORIENTEM. What faithful loyal Catholic just basically had a ecstatic experience watching this on EWTN.
Even old-time Bishop Foley even attended and con-celebrated, knowing back in 1999 he banned the Ad Orientem. Maybe he is “evolving” like Obama.
So Great Mass. BUT I have two issues with it.
1. Bishop Baker KEPT turning around during prayers…. isn’t he used to the Ad Orientem yet? Growing up to a traditional Mass, Tridentine mass in my country, the priest ONLY turns around Versus Populum when he says “Dominus Vobiscum” or when he rteads the Gospel reading.
2. Bishop baker turned around AGAIN at consecration and offered the chalice to the people and the paten with the host. WTH? In the old traditional ritual, the priest just offers it in ONE direction——towards the Tabernacle, which is in front of him.
Maybe Bishop Baker isn’t used to this whole thing yet. That being said, can EWTN start showing their masses this way??????? I know the Hanceville shrine does Ad Orientem on their non-televised masses… so its time for some Catholic backbone and start showing it.
Here in Los Angeles Archdiocese, we will not see this type of piety. even so much so, the heretics here in California will get crazy if they feel a hint of old catholicism coming back into their parishes.
It’s very refreshing and heartening to see the REAL Reverend Sisters working under the Church and assisting the Church in saving souls. Cast your mind to the wonderful works of Mother Theresa of Kolkata and you will see the similitude between Mother Angelica’s Monastery and what Mother Theresa did. This is unlike what some other reverend sisters had done and thus led themselves astray in the cacophonous eccentricities of feminity in religion and goring opposition to the teachings of the Church.
I thank Mother Angelica, who started my conversion by listening to the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. Our Lord is the only one who knows the number of souls saved from these sister’s sacrifices.
What a blessed and heart-warming story of Mother Angelica and her group of dedicated sisters. Prayers. The Joy of our Lord.
Watching the 50th anniversary Mass brought tears to my eyes, and the homily by Father Joseph is always a message of hope and love. His anecdotes about Mother Angelica were priceless. Watching the Mass facing God brought nostalgic memories of those spiritual times after my conversion in 1949 when Bishop Sheen graced the airways and you could easily tell that almost every Catholic at Mass believed in the Real Presence. My day ends near midnight after I watch the Daily Mass. I am so glad Father Anthony sent me The Newsletter of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word and considers me part of their family. All the priests and brothers seem like family to me as well. I can imagine their joy and look forward to the ordination of Brother Patrick and Brother Leonard June 2.
Watching the 50th Anniversary Mass brought tears to my 85 year old eyes, Father Joseph’s homilies are always filled with hope and love. His anecdotes about Mother Angelica were priceless. Watching the Mass facing God brought nostalgic memories from those spiritual times after my 1949 conversion when Bishop Sheen was gracing the airwaves and you could easily tell that almost every Catholic at Mass believed in the Real Presence. My day ends near midnight after I watch the daily prayer and Daily Mass. I am glad Father Anthony sent me a copy of The Newsletter of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word and considers me part of their family. All the priests and brothers seem like family to me as well. I can imagine their joy and look forward to the ordination of Brother Patrick and Brother Leonard om June 2.
Congratulations Mother Angelica and all the Poor Clare Sisters. We pray that the Holy Spirit sustain your efforts in your endeavors to evangelize the world by propagating the mission of Jesus Christ through the Holy Catholic Church, via EWTN.
Thank you for all your good work; you have touched million of people. We are grateful to you.
Thanks again.
Congratulations Mother Angelica and all the Poor Clare Sisters. We pray that the Holy Spirit sustain your efforts in your endeavors to evangelize the world by propagating the mission of Jesus Christ through the Holy Catholic Church, via EWTN.
Thank you for all your good work; you have touched million of people. We are grateful to you.
Thanks again
Great article. Mother Angelica is the woman I admire most in the world. He is granting her wish of living a long life. EWTN has been a great blessing in my life which is why I became a monthly contributor. God bless Mother Angelica and all who work for EWTN.
It is an amazing story of faith! Thank God for Mother Angelica and all the nuns who have been praying for us all of these years!
When we moved from Queens NY to Long Island, NY,in 1990, we got cable TV.(Cable TV and EWTN were not available at that time in Queens.)One night while switching to all these new channels we had, I came across this woman dressed as a nun, making the audience laugh and laugh over all the funny things she was saying about the scripture she was speaking about. At first I thought she was a comedian, making fun at the scripture and was going to switch her off. But while listening, I thought to myself, WOW!! she is really preaching the gospel. When she ended with “please put us between your gas and electric bill, I didnt know if it was for real or just a joke. Confused, I shut the TV off that night. The next morning, I tuned to that same channel and saw the Mass and this same nun was in the monastery sing with other nuns. Now I knew it was for real!!! Well to make a long story short. We are still watching EWTN every day and when we retired to Henderson, Nevada, we checked to make sure that EWTN was available here on cable. We cant live without EWTN!!!!! Thank you Jesus!!!!
What a pity no one can respond this great event.
Some day Mother Angelica will be Canonized a Saint! She is a courageous woman totally dedicated to Jesus!
Can someone photoshop Mother’s image and put a smile on her face?
Smile, Mother Angelica!
Ina sonrisa, por favor
I love Mother Angelica and the Nuns! :) Whooo hooo!
With all due respect for the USCCB, Mother Angelica did what all of the bishops of the United States could not. Because of Mother and EWTN the Catholic Christian message now goes around the globe 24/7. What a fiesty lady of God ... determined ... unafraid ... and a woman who lives in faith and never fear. Certainly, she has had many set backs, but each time these made her more determined and stronger, better and never bitter. I applaud Mother and all the Poor Clare Nuns as they celebrate their Golden Anniversary. When Christ said: “Preach the Good News around the world…”, He already knew Mother would heed His word, and indeed she has. And thanks too for those who believed in her, continue to contriubute to EWTN and their programming. OK, I may not like every program, but heck who can bat 1000?
Thank you Mother Angelica for saying yes to God.
I want to thank Mother Angelica and all the nun’s for their service to
GOD, I am sorry that i am late in sending this, but just opened it up. THANKS AGAIN
THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. GOD BLESS ALL
Where are the comments here? Please check your website!
What a pity no one can offer congratulations.
I love watching EWTN. It has changed my life. Mother Angelica is a living saint,and I love her very much.I have become so much more in love with GOD, and the credit for this goes to Mother Angelica and EWTN. I thank GOD for this program. In Love with Jesus, Arlene
I love Mother Angelica. She is a living saint. Watching EWTN and Mother Angelica has brought so much love for GOD to my heart and I am so grateful for this blessed program. Arlene
Our Lady of the Angels Monastery is such a beautiful and peaceful place! I’m also certain that Mother Angelica will someday be up for canonization, she was a holy nun who did great thing’s for the Lord!
Congratulations to Mother Angelica and her Sisters in Alabama!
AD MULTOS ANNOS!
May the Sacred Heart of JESUS bless everyone fo you, Mother Angelica,the priets, allpreachers appearing on your tv chanell because you are doing a marvellous work. I wish that we could keep constant contactfor the sake of our faith. May the name of Jesus be praised always throughout the world. GOG Bless YOU all, GOD Bless America.
Dear Mother Angelica,
I thank you for the EWTN. I often attend the Mass celebrated by the Franciscan Fathers of ETWN. Today I participated in the Corpus Christi Mass and the Corpus Christi Procession. All my childhood memories came alive for then in the 1960 there were Latin Masses in India and there were several benedictions. Nowadays there are no Latin Masses in India. Latin Mass has a special religious Flavor.
After watching you recite the St. Michael’s Chaplet, I am also reciting my St. Michael’s Chaplet. I am praying for all of you daily.
Yours sincerely in Jesus Christ
Mr. Raymond Nelson D’cunha
‘BETHEL’, ROW HOUSE NO.7,
BEHIND CHOUDHARY KIRANA SHOP,
AMOL NAGAR PHASE -1,
JUCHANDRA POST,
NAIGAON (EAST), TALUKA VASAI
DISTRICT THANE : 401207
MAHARASHATRA, INDIA.
You Go Mohter Angelica you do what you have to do to be happy!!!! You are a very good nun. You will be blessed in your life. I hope that continue doing what you love to do.
Greetings. Would like to know if mother Angelica is a missionary or contemplative. Why is EWTN dominated by whites? e.g those that host the shows.
Yours in Christ
Millie
Is there a Roman Catholic retirement assisted living facilityin conjunction with your motherhouse. My 91 yr. old sister is devoted to EWTN and is in need of a Catholic Facility where she can attend daily Mass. She currently lives alone and has been living independently.
<a >Baza de machiaj </a>
doar la magazinul online SLA.
website intreg cu <a >Creion - Dermatograf</a>
Aici ai parte de tarifele minuscule.
From the very first time up until today,I have loved watching EWTN and dear Mother Angelica. This show is the diamond that out shines all the smut, and garbage on T.V. today. Now I have terminal cancer, but I have been blessed with a joy inside of me that never leaves me. I’am aware of how much GOD loves me and this love is something I want to give to everyone. Yes, Mother’s teachings and all the many programs on EWTN have brought me to the realization that my soul is what matters above all. Thank you and Congratulations on your 50th anniversary,and thank you for all your many prayers. Arlene Boden
Organizam cantonamente strainatate Austria pentru cluburi de fotbal . Agenti autorizati UEFA
Zlatna
juniori
I thank God for EWTN and Mother Angelica for doing God’s will in building the network She helped me stay a Catholic.
God Bless EWTN and Mother Angelica abundantly.
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I love the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration! I am considering joining them! God Bless EWTN and their mission for the salvation of souls!
I PRAY THE ROSARY WITH MOTHER ANGELICA AND THE NUNS EVRY DAY AND WOULD
LIKE TO KNOW THE NAMES OF ALL THE NUNS WHO WR WITH EWTN NOW
I KNOW ALL THE BROTHERS AND PRIESTS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A WEBSITE WHERE I CAN GET INFORMATION—IS THERE A WEBSITE FOR ALL THE LITTLE NUNS WHO PRAY THE ROSARY WITH MOTHER ANGELICA ON EWTN?
SEND ANY INFORMATION TO MY .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
GOD BLESS MOTHER ANGELICA AND ALL THE NUNS AT EWTN
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