Blessed Maria Angela Astorch

Maria Angela Astorch (née Maria Ines Jerónima Astorch; 1 September 1592 – 2 December 1665) was a Spanish nun and mystic. Born in Barcelona, she founded the Capuchin Poor Clares of Zaragoza and Murcia. She died in Murcia and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 23 May 1982. She was born into a comfortable family where she was the youngest of her four siblings. Her father, Cristóbal Cortey, sold books for a living; her mother, Catalina Astroch, was the universal heir of Pedro Miguel Astroch, under the stipulation that all of her offspring would keep her last name. Both parents died within four years, leaving Maria an orphan in the care of her housekeeper in Sarria. In 1599 she was found poisoned and left for dead. Her sister Isabel Astorch, who was a nun in the newly founded Capuchin Monastery in Barcelona, attended the funeral with the founder of the monastery, Angela Serafin Prat. Amid preparations for the funeral Maria came back to life, the miracle was attributed to the prayers of her sister Angela. After her revival she acquired an advanced maturity and showed tremendous potential, it gave the impression that she was a highly gifted child. She learned to read and to work hard; she also had a great love of reading, especially books in Latin. On 16 September 1603, at age 11, she entered the monastery of St. Margaret of Barcelona, founded by Mother Angela Serafina Prat. She did it with the six volumes of the Breviary in Latin, which she had already mastered. Despite her early maturity, she had to wait until 1608 for the recruitment to end, a wait made difficult by misunderstanding and envy of the teacher, who came to abuse her; eventually because of her maturity and culture, she was commissioned to give some training to their colleagues. In the end Mother Angela Serafina ended up deposing the master and putting in place Isabel Astorch, Maria Angela's sister. She became the teacher on 8 September 1609. In 1612 she was appointed to join the community council.