Our annual St Monica day celebration is a time when we celebrate St Monica, the patron of our church, the patron saint of mothers.

Her faith and dedication to motherhood played a pivotal role in the spiritual formation of one of the most brilliant philosophers and well-known saints of all time – Saint Augustine, her son.


Dedicated to Motherhood


After her husband’s premature death, St. Monica dedicated her life to raising her children. As a single mother of three, she persevered in the face of many difficulties. Her greatest desire was for her children to follow Christ. Although later in life he was known as a fervent man of God, St. Augustine did not easily come to see God’s truth. As a child, he proved to be quite difficult, causing Monica much grief, and as a young adult he remained uninterested in Christianity. But St. Monica never stopped praying for his eternal soul, in spite of the circumstances. On one particular occasion, when she was discussing the matter with a priest, he urged her to remain steadfast in her prayers, stating that it was “not possible that the son of so many tears should perish.”


A Testament to the Power of Prayer


After many years of prayer, Saint Monica finally saw her son give his life to the service of God. St. Augustine declared that his mother’s resilience and dedication to prayer is what led him to become the man of God he was meant to be. He stated that St. Monica was not only his mother, but “the source of his Christianity.” According to Pope Benedict XVI: