Archangela Girlani, Bl.

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ARCHANGELA GIRLANI, BL.

Carmelite; b. Eleanora, at Trino, 1460; d. Mantua, Jan. 25, 1494. Her father resisted her desire to become a religious but finally agreed to allow her to enter a Benedictine convent of relaxed observance near Trino. This plan having been thwarted, she eventually joined the carmelites at Parma (1477), who led the stricter life she desired. Soon after she was made prioress, the gonzaga family requested that she be sent to Mantua to found a new convent. She was noted for her austerity, charity, and spirit of prayer and for reputed mystical experiences. Her body was found to be incorrupt three years after her death. Her cult was confirmed in 1864.

Feast: Feb. 13

Bibliography: albarei, Notice sur la vie de la bse. Archangela Girlani (Poitiers 1865). a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, rev. ed. h. thurston and d. attwater (New York, 1956) 1:327328.

[n. g. wolf]