St. Monica

Biography

St. Monica (331–387 AD) is one of the most inspiring figures in Church history for anyone who prays persistently for the conversion of a loved one. Born to a Christian family in Thagaste, North Africa, she was married young to Patricius, a pagan man of violent temper and frequent infidelity. Through decades of patience, prayer, and gentle witness, she won both Patricius and her difficult mother-in-law to the Christian faith. But her greatest anguish was reserved for her brilliant eldest son, Augustine, who for years lived a dissolute life, took a mistress, fathered an illegitimate child, and embraced the Manichaean heresy. Monica wept and prayed for him unceasingly for seventeen years, following him from Africa to Rome to Milan. She sought counsel from a wise bishop who — reportedly moved more by her persistence than her arguments — told her: 'It is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish.' In Milan, Augustine came under the influence of St. Ambrose's preaching and was finally baptized at Easter 387. Monica's joy was complete. She died shortly after, at Ostia, having told Augustine: 'Nothing in this world now affords me delight. What do I here any longer, and to what end I am here, I know not, now that my hopes in this world are accomplished.'

Patronages

Symbols