08/27/2026
The Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Monica on August 27.
Reflecting on the life of Monica and of her son, Saint Augustine, whose memorial the church celebrates on August 28, Pope Benedict noted that Monica “lived her mission as a wife and mother in an exemplary way, helping her husband Patricius to discover the beauty of faith in Christ and the power of evangelical love, which can overcome evil with good.
“After his premature death, Monica courageously devoted herself to caring for her three children, including Augustine, who initially caused her suffering with his somewhat rebellious temperament. As Augustine himself was to say, his mother gave birth to him twice; the second time required a lengthy spiritual travail of prayers and tears, but it was crowned at last with the joy of seeing him not only embrace the faith and receive Baptism, but also dedicate himself without reserve to the service of Christ.
“How many difficulties there are also today in family relations and how many mothers are in anguish at seeing their children setting out on wrong paths! Monica, a woman whose faith was wise and sound, invites them not to lose heart but to persevere in their mission as wives and mothers, keeping firm their trust in God and clinging with perseverance to prayer.”
(From Pope Benedict’s remarks delivered at the Angelus prayer, August 27, 2006, Castel Gondolfo, https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/angelus/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20060827.html.)
Image: Saints Augustine and Monica, Ary Scheffer, 1854
