Today, January 29, is the memorial of Blessed Archangela Girlani.
Carmelite nun.
Born to a noble family in 1460, she was originally named Eleanora. She was already drawn to the religious life as a child. She planned to enter the Benedictines. On her way to the abbey, her horse refused to move. She took it as a sign that God wanted her somewhere else. She was directed to a Carmelite monastery in Parma, Italy, where she was given the religious name Archangela.
Archangela was elected prioress and even founded a new Carmelite monastery in Mantua. She was known as a mystic, and had the gifts of ecstasy, levitation, and miracles. She had a special devotion to the Holy Trinity.
She died at age 33 in 1495. She was beatified by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1864.
Her incorrupt body lies in the Church of San Lorenzo.