'Nothing would stop her.' St. Raphael Center honors Mother Angelica with monument

JACKSON TWP. − Mother Angelica, the visionary nun who founded EWTN, the world's largest Catholic television network, was honored this week as the St. Raphael Center formally dedicated a Mother Angelica Monument, part of a museum dedicated to her life and ministry.

St. Raphael, located at 4365 at Fulton Drive NW, also houses WILB Living Bread Radio, a book and gift store, and sponsors a Mother Angelica Tour.

The Mother Angelica Museum opened in 2020.

About 75 people, including visitors from Pennsylvania, Missouri and Indiana on Wednesday attended the dedication Mass, which coincided with her 101st birthday. She died in 2016 at 92.

Mother Angelica: "A Girl From Canton"

Who was Mother Angelica?

The former Rita Rizzo was born in southeast Canton on April 20, 1923, to Italian immigrants who attended St. Anthony's Catholic Church, now St. Francis of Assisi.

Clad in a vestment bearing an image of St. Anthony — one of her patron saints — the Rev. Nicholas Mancini, chief celebrant, described Rizzo as an outgoing McKinley High School majorette who went home every day to a "disordered" household and a neighborhood struggling under the thumb of organized crime.

"She knew the neighborhood. And she would sit in the front and watch the various people go by," he said.

"She understood when she heard them speak about the man who they would go to, known as 'the Godfather.' She wondered 'How I can get around this and try to bring a message to change lives?' She wanted to know, 'What shall I do with my life?'"

After Rizzo experienced a miraculous healing from a stomach ailment after visiting Rhoda Wise, a stigmatic whose Canton house is now a Catholic shine, she entered religious life. At 23, she took her vows as a Franciscan nun of the Blessed Sacrament, then joined the newly formed Sancta Clara Monastery in Plain Township in 1947.

A homegrown saint? Should this Canton woman be made a saint?

'Nothing would stop her'

While at Sancta Clara, she suffered a serious fall, resulting in her wearing a leg brace for decades, only to receive a second healing when she was in her 60s.

In 1961, at the height of the Civil Rights conflict, Mother Angelica moved to Irondale, Alabama, to launch Our Lady of the Angels, an integrated monastery. Inspired by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, she launched EWTN from a garage in 1981, making history as the first woman to be granted an FCC license for satellite broadcasting.

Her humor and unapologetic defense of the faith quickly made her a media star.

"Her godfather was the father in heaven," Mancini said. "Nothing would stop her."

Mancini said Mother Angelica's down-to-earth approach earned her and EWTN viewers from all faiths.

"She brought the message of faith in a way that we could understand her," he said. "She used humor to enlighten the hearts of people. People would go down there just to see who this woman was; this little Italian nun from a little place called Canton, Ohio."

Mancini recalled one memorable broadcast.

"She invited Mexican people to celebrate our Lady of Guadalupe and they gave her a big sombrero, and she put it on and she was dancing with the children," he said to laughter. "Even though her legs at that time were in pain, she did it because she loved people, and to show the joy of Christ in every person. For her that moment, honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe and those people was a joy."

But Mother Angelica, Manicini said, was fearless in her faith.

'You can be holy right where you are'

"She didn't care who she took on," he said. "You remember that comment when she took on one of the cardinals? 'You want to play games? I'll show you what Mafia means. Don't mess with me and God because I got a stronger godfather than you'll ever have.' And she went forward and defended the Eucharistic Christ. That's faith. That's determination. That's knowing the price."

Sandy Williams, a parishioner of St. Joan of Arc in Perry Township, is a first cousin of Mother Angelica. She recalled visiting her in Irondale, where she would help her and the other nuns with various tasks.

Williams said she thinks people were drawn by her older cousin's dedication to God and her common touch.

"Her love of Christ, you couldn't match it," she said. "We would visit her at Sancta Clara once a month. She was always funny, but when she serious ..."

Elizabeth Scott of Canal Fulton brought her three young children, Jean Marie, Miriam and Peter, to the dedication as a daycare field trip with another family. She noted that 4-year-old Jean Marie wants to be a nun.

"We love coming here," Scott said. "My girls asked to come. I love that they're learning about everyday saints. You can be holy right where you are."

Joan Ulicny traveled with a friend from Pittsburgh to attend the event.

"I wanted to come honor this woman who allowed God to use her," she said. "We love Mother and are amazed at what God has done through her."

Ulicny, who said she was partially blinded from a hit-and-run accident, credits Mother Angelica's dedication with fostering her own.

"She helped me gain my eyes of faith," she said.

The dedication also included the burial of a time capsule at the foot of the monument. St. Raphael founder Barbara Gaskell said it contains photographs, a list of the current church hierarchy, and splinters from a 1922 Communion railing recovered from St. Anthony's, which is on display in the museum.

Gaskell said the capsule will be unsealed when Mother Angelica is canonized, eliciting applause.

The Canton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution posthumously honored Mother Angelica with its Women in History Award. Canton Regent Kim Demor said she also will be listed in DAR's state and national registries.

Mancini said Mother Angelica's witness, joy and dedication to God lives on through her shows, which are still shown on EWTN.

"Her voice still resounds as the living voice of EWTN," he said.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Mother Angelica honored with monument dedication at St. Raphael Center