Born in the 4th century, St. Monica is recognized as the patron saint of mothers. Her tireless prayer and dedication to motherhood played a pivotal role in the spiritual formation of one of the most brilliant philosophers and well-known saints of all time. As we celebrate her memorial on August 27, we invite you to learn five key facts about her life and discover where you can find her in the Basilica.
1. She grew up in North Africa.
Her hometown of Tagaste was also the place where St. Augustine would be born and where he would eventually found a religious order decades later.
2. She was a single mother.
For much of her life, Monica faced difficult circumstances outside her control. After her parents married her off to an unbeliever named Patricius, she had no choice but to live with him and his abrasive mother, who was also an unbeliever. Despite his poor temper and worldly habits, Patricius held Monica in high regard, and with prayer and perseverance, she won him and his mother over to Christianity. However, just a year following his conversion, Patricius passed away, leaving Monica with three children to care for.
3. She is the mother of St. Augustine.
As a single mother, Monica persevered in the face of many difficulties, motivated by a desire for her children to follow Christ. Most notable among her children was St. Augustine, a seminal thinker whose impact on Christian theology and Western philosophy is unparalleled. By some accounts, his Confessions is considered the first autobiography of the West and is perhaps the “most widely read book of Christian antiquity.”
4. She prayed for years for Augustine’s salvation before he committed his life to the Lord.
Although later in life he was known as a fervent man of God, Augustine did not easily come to see God’s truth. As a child, he proved to be quite difficult, causing Monica much grief, and as a young adult he remained worldly and uninterested in Christianity. But St. Monica never stopped praying for his eternal soul. On one occasion when she was discussing the matter with a priest, he urged her to remain steadfast in her prayers, stating that it was “not possible that the son of so many tears should perish.” Augustine later called her “the source of his Christianity.”
5. She passed away shortly after Augustine’s baptism.
After Augustine turned 29, he wanted to teach rhetoric in Rome, but he didn’t want his mother following him there. When he went to the docks to set sail, he pretended it was only to send off a friend, and instead departed himself. Desperate to find her son, Monica later found passage to Rome, but Augustine had already moved on to Milan.
It was in Milan that Monica finally discovered her son amidst better influences, under the spiritual care of St. Ambrose, who was pivotal in helping lead him to Christ. In 387, St. Ambrose baptized Augustine, and less than a year later, Monica passed away.
Today, she is known as the patron saint of mothers. Her life serves as a reminder for all Christians to never stop praying for those who do not yet know Christ. You can find St. Monica portrayed in the northwest nave bay of the Great Upper Church.
Sources:
Butler’s Lives of the Saints (ed. by Bernard Bangley)
The Way of the Saints, Tom Cowan
“Saint Monica,” Franciscan Media
Read More: Four Things You Should Know About St. Augustine
Despite being raised by a devoted Christian mother, St. Augustine was an atheist for the first few decades of his life. It was not until he moved to Milan at age 29 that something changed: one day while he was in the garden, he heard a child chanting, “Take up and read! Take up and read!” Feeling a divine nudge, Augustine opened a Bible and read in Romans an exhortation to abandon licentiousness and follow Christ. It was just the beginning of his incredible transformation – learn more about his life and contributions to Christianity.