Saint Angela of the Cross

Saint Angela of the Cross is the foundress of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross. She was born on January 30, 1846, in Seville, Spain. She was greatly influenced by the example of her pious parents and was taught from an early age how to pray the Rosary. She could often be found in the parish church praying before the image of "Our Lady of Good Health." Angela made her First Communion when she was eight, and her Confirmation when she was nine. She had little formal education and began working in a shoe shop.

Angelita was 16 years old when she met Fr. José Torres Padilla of Seville who became her spiritual director. Angela desired to enter religious life, and when she was 19, she asked to join the Discalced Carmelites in Santa Cruz but was refused due to her poor health. Instead, following Fr. Torres's advice, she began caring for needy cholera patients because a cholera epidemic was spreading among the poor. Three years later, she approached the Daughters of Charity in Seville and was admitted, though her health was still poor. Despite the efforts of the sisters to help her improve, her condition remained fragile and she left the order during her novitiate.

On November 1, 1871, at the foot of the Cross,  Angela made a private vow to live the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience. In 1873 she had a vision that marked the beginning of her "new mission." During prayer, she saw an empty cross directly in front of the Cross of Jesus. She understood that our Lord  was inviting her to hang from the empty Cross, to join him on the Cross, and thereby be "poor with the poor in order to bring them to Christ." Angela continued to work in the shoe shop. Still, in obedience to Fr. Torres, she devoted her free time to writing a detailed spiritual diary that revealed the style and ideal of life she was being called to live. 

On August 2, 1875, three other women joined Angela, beginning community life together in a rented room in Seville. From that day on, they began to visit and assist the poor day and night. These Sisters of the Company of the Cross, under the guidance of Mother Angela of the Cross, lived a contemplative life when they were not among the poor. Once they returned home, they dedicated themselves to prayer and silence but were always ready to go out and serve the poor and the dying when needed. While Mother Angela was alive, another 23 convents were established. She died on March 2, 1932, in Seville and was canonized in 2003 by Pope John Paul II.

Saint Angela of the Cross, you led your life serving the poor; help us follow your example and examine our attachments to the wealth and comforts of our lives. Amen.

Prepared and updated by:

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Penampang, Sabah Malaysia.