Monica
Saint Monica is the patroness of mothers, of wives, and of those who suffer wayward children because her own long sorrow was exactly theirs: for years she wept and prayed without ceasing for her brilliant, dissolute son Augustine, following him even across the sea, until at last he was converted and baptized — a bishop having assured her that “the son of so many tears could not be lost.” She is patroness of wives because she bore patiently with a difficult, unfaithful husband and won his conversion too by gentleness. Because Augustine recalled that she had once been tempted to excess of wine in her youth and overcame it, she is also invoked by alcoholics and those who pray for them.
Saint Monica is the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo. Born around 332 in North Africa, she spent decades praying and weeping for the conversion of her brilliant but wayward son. Her persistent prayer and patient faith were finally rewarded when Augustine was baptized by Saint Ambrose in 387. She is the model of faithful perseverance in prayer.
