By Christina Hermoso
Roman Catholics will commemorate tomorrow the feast day of Saint Monica, the patron saint of mothers and wives.
Saint Monica (Photo via Catholic.org / MANILA BULLETIN)
A high mass will be celebrated in honor of the popular saint at the Santa Monica Church on the corner of Basa and Dagupan Streets in Tondo, Manila at 6 p.m., to be followed by a solemn procession.
Special masses will also be celebrated at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila at 7 a.m. and at 5:30 p.m., to be followed by the traditional blessing of mothers.
Commemorative masses will also be held in Sta. Monica, Surigao del Norte; Alburquerque, Bohol; Taytay, Palawan; Minalin, Pampanga; Pavia, Iloilo; Botolan, Zambales; Panay, Capiz; and in Angat, Bulacan.
St. Monica is the mother of one of the Catholic Church’s most popular saints, St. Augustine (San Agustin), the founder of the Augustinian Order. Considered as a great model for Christian mothers, she converted her wayward son, St. Augustine, as well as her pagan husband and his mother, through intense praying and fasting.
Born in Tagaste, North Africa in 331, St. Monica was a great devotee of the Blessed Mother. She was admired for her patience, perseverance, prayerful disposition, and deep faith. She died in the year 387.