I have wonderful memories of my visit to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament which was built by Mother Angelica at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama. ‘In the face of sickness and long-suffering trials, Mother’s example of joy and prayerful perseverance exemplified the Franciscan spirit she held so dear,’ he said.” EWTN’s chairman Michael Warsaw said Mother Angelica would always personify the network. ‘She left an indelible mark on Alabama, the Catholic Church and the world as a whole,’ he said. “Alabama Governor Robert Bentley was among those to pay tribute. It also operates radio stations and newspapers. Her health had been declining since she suffered a stroke in 2001. It has 11 channels reaching more than 250 million homes in 145 countries. The BBC reports: “EWTN claims to be the world’s biggest religious media network. The Catholic News Agency reports that “she launched EWTN after refusing to continue broadcasting from a secular TV station that she said was also broadcasting blasphemous films.” In 1962 she founded a monastery (Poor Clare nuns – a Franciscan religious order for women) in Irondale, near Birmingham, Alabama, USA. In 1981 she founded the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a Catholic cable channel, in her monastery garage. She was born in Ohio and became a nun in Cleveland aged 21. “Mother Angelica was an unapologetic and aggressive champion of Catholic orthodoxy, one of the leading exponents of what historians will no doubt see as a powerful conservative wave that rolled through American Catholicism in the 1980s and 90s…she will be sorely missed – the Church just isn’t as much fun without her around to stir the waters, raise our blood pressure, get us to think, and remind us to pray.” Journalist John L Allen Jr rightly said that: “Rita Antoinette Rizzo, Mother Angelica’s given name, was many things: A lightning rod, a force of nature, an impresario, an entertainer, a deft commentator…and, beneath it all, a faithful and pious nun… she was far from being everyone’s cup of tea. Mother Angelica died on Easter Sunday, March 27 (1923-2016) at age 92. “God wants you to be in the world, but so different from the world that you will change it.
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
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