Saint Monica, Widow
S. Monicae Viduae
Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine, won by her prayers and her tears the conversion of her son, and is honoured as a model of Christian motherhood and persevering faith.
Saint Monica was born about the year 332 in North Africa, of Christian parents, and is known to us with rare intimacy through the Confessions of her son, Saint Augustine, who set down her holiness, her sorrows, and her faith for all ages to read. Few mothers in the history of the Church have been so honoured, and few have so plainly shown the power of patient prayer.
A mother’s prayers and tears
Given in marriage to Patricius, a pagan of a difficult temper, Monica bore his hardness with gentleness and by her example at last won him to the faith of Christ before his death. Her deepest sorrow, however, was her gifted son Augustine, who in his youth wandered far from God, ensnared by error and by the disorders of his life. For him Monica prayed without ceasing and wept without measure, following him even across the sea to Italy when he departed from Africa.
Her constancy was rewarded beyond her hopes. Under the preaching of Saint Ambrose at Milan, Augustine was at length converted, and at Easter of the year 387 he was baptised by that holy bishop, with his mother’s joy now full to overflowing. The collect of her feast remembers this very grace, calling upon God “the comforter of the sorrowful,” who mercifully received the tears of blessed Monica for the conversion of her son.
Her holy death
Soon after, as mother and son made ready to return to Africa, they paused at Ostia near the mouth of the Tiber, and there, in a famous passage of the Confessions, they spoke together of the eternal life of the saints and were lifted up in holy converse toward God. A few days later Monica fell ill, and she died at Ostia about the year 387, content to be buried far from her homeland, asking only to be remembered at the altar of the Lord.
Saint Monica is venerated as a patroness of Christian mothers and of wives, and as a comfort to all who pray for the conversion of those they love. Her feast on the fourth of May teaches that no prayer is wasted and no tear forgotten, and that the love of a faithful mother, joined to the grace of God, can call a soul back from far away.
The Collect
O God, the comforter of the sorrowful and the salvation of them that hope in thee, who didst mercifully receive the pious tears of blessed Monica for the conversion of her son Augustine: grant us, by the intercession of them both, to bewail our sins and to find the pardon of thy grace.
Deus, mæréntium consolátor et in te sperántium salus, qui beátæ Mónicæ pias lácrimas in conversióne fílii sui Augustíni misericórditer suscepísti: da nobis utriúsque intervéntu; peccáta nostra deploráre, et grátiæ tuæ indulgéntiam inveníre.
Patronage
She is the patroness of Christian mothers and wives, of widows, and is invoked by all who pray for the conversion of their children and loved ones.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar her memorial is observed on 27 August, the day before the feast of her son Saint Augustine.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Monica?
In the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal her feast is kept on 4 May as a Third Class feast. In the modern calendar her memorial is observed on 27 August.
Who was Saint Monica?
She was the fourth-century North African mother of Saint Augustine, who by years of prayer and tears obtained the conversion of her son. Her life is known chiefly through Augustine’s Confessions.
Why is Saint Monica a model for parents?
For many years she prayed and wept for her son’s return to God and never gave up hope, and her perseverance was at last rewarded with his conversion and baptism. She is honoured as the patroness of Christian mothers and a comfort to all who pray for those they love.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
These pages are offered with love for the saints and for all who seek them. If anything here should need correcting, we humbly beg your pardon and ask your help — kindly write to [email protected], and we will mend it as soon as we can.
Receive the coming feasts, Mass times, and reflections from our community — sent with care, never spam.