Saint Monica

Saint Monica was born in 332 in Tagaste (present-day Souk Ahras in Algeria). At a young age she was given in marriage to a pagan Roman official, a hot-tempered and unfaithful man. At 22, Monica gave birth to a son, Augustine. His youth was a torment to his mother. Augustine led an idle life and gave himself over to debauchery. For many years he lived unmarried with a woman, with whom he had a son, Adeodatus. He became a member of the Manichaean sect.

For many years Saint Monica prayed patiently and perseveringly for Augustine, begging for his conversion. Bishop Ambrose, later a saint, once told her: “Mother, I am sure that the son of so many tears must return to God.” And so it came to pass. Augustine became a great saint and a Doctor of the Church. In his famous “Confessions” (his spiritual autobiography) he wrote that his mother wept over him “more than mothers weep over the graves of their children.” And it was to his mother’s tears and prayers that he attributed his conversion.

Saint Monica is an example of patient and persevering prayer for children and husbands. She is the patroness of Christian women, especially those going through marital difficulties and failed marriages, and those who have been disappointed in their children or are having trouble with them. She is also the patroness of women who are victims of adultery, alcoholism, verbal abuse, and slander.