Mary Angelica of the Annunciation (born Rita Antoinette Rizzo; April 20, 1923 – March 27, 2016), commonly referred to as "Mother Angelica", was an American Catholic nun of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration.
Mother Angelica was known for founding the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), an international Catholic cable television network, on which she hosted the program Mother Angelica Live. She also established WEWN, a radio network used by members of the Catholic Church to disseminate its religious teachings.
In 1981, Mother Angelica began broadcasting religious programming from a converted garage in Birmingham, Alabama. Over the following two decades, she expanded the operation into a global media network that included television, radio, internet platforms, and print publications. She continued to host shows on EWTN until 2001, when she had a stroke. She remained in the cloistered monastery in Hanceville, Alabama, until she died in 2016.
Rita Antoinette Rizzo was born on April 20, 1923, in Canton, Ohio. Canton's southeast area, where her family lived, was then known as the city's red-light district. This neighborhood was inhabited by both Black residents and a large number of Italian immigrants employed in the Canton mills. Italian immigrants in the area experienced challenges related to social mobility, including high rates of illiteracy, and extortion by the Black Hand. The neighborhood was also associated with corruption and mob-related violence. Catholic priests at St. Anthony's Church sought to improve the lives of the local population.
Rita was of Italian-American descent and the only child of John Rizzo, a tailor, and Mae Helen Rizzo (née Gianfrancesco). She was born at 1029 Liberty Street, the residence of her maternal grandparents, Mary and Anthony Gianfresco. Anthony had emigrated from Naples, Italy, first settling in Colorado before moving to Ohio and marrying Mary Votolato. Anthony assisted new Italian immigrants with clothing and employment, while Mary provided food to them. Their daughter Mae married John at the age of 22, against the advice of her parents, who disapproved of him. According to later accounts, John had expressed anger on learning that Mae was pregnant. When Rita was baptized at five months of age, her mother brought her to the side altar of Our Lady of Sorrows and handed her over in a symbolic gesture. The family of John and Mae initially lived in a rented house described as infested with cockroaches.
After repeated arguments, Mae began staying at her parents' home, and this became a recurring pattern. Tensions escalated when Mae invited John's mother, Catherine Rizzo, to live with them. Catherine reportedly criticized Mae frequently. By November 1929, John had left the family, relocated to California, and ceased contact with Mae and Rita. Mae and Rita, then age five, returned to the Gianfresco household. On March 10, 1931, Mae was granted full custody of Rita. Although John was ordered to pay five dollars per week in child support, payments were reported to be intermittent. Mae retained custody but struggled with chronic depression and poverty, difficulties that were exacerbated by the societal stigma surrounding divorce and limited economic opportunities for women during the Great Depression.
Between 1933 and 1937, Mae and Rita relocated multiple times to small one-bedroom apartments. These residences typically had a business space at the front and sleeping quarters at the back. Occasionally, when disputes arose between Mae and her mother, Rita stayed with family friends. Due to ongoing financial difficulties, Mae and Rita eventually returned to the Gianfresco household. During their absence, Anthony had suffered a stroke that left him hemiparetic and reliant on a cane.
Reflecting on this period, Mother Angelica later described the circumstances of her mother and her as similar to those of refugees. She recalled, "We were poor, hungry, and barely surviving on odd jobs until Mother joined the dry cleaning business as an apprentice to a Jewish tailor in our area. Even then, we pinched pennies simply to keep food on the table."
Rita attended St. Anthony's School, where she later reported a strong dislike for the nuns, describing them as "the meanest people on earth." She attributed their harsh discipline to her status as the child of divorced parents. Mae Rizzo initially withdrew her daughter from the school temporarily, and the withdrawal later became permanent.
At age fourteen, Rita enrolled at McKinley High School in Canton, where she became one of the school's first drum majorettes. She later stated in an interview that she struggled academically, saying, "I did very poorly in school. I wasn't interested in the capital of Ohio. I was interested in whether my mother had committed suicide that day." Rita did not form close friendships during high school, a circumstance she attributed to her concern that doing so might distress her mother, who viewed competing demands for attention as threatening. Nor did Rita engage in dating, later recalling: "I never had a date, never wanted one. I just didn't have any desire. I suppose having experienced the worst of married life, it was not at all attractive to me."
By the time she began high school, financial constraints necessitated a return to the Gianfresco household, where her two uncles and grandparents also resided. Her grandfather Anthony had experienced a stroke, which intensified his previously volatile temperament. Despite these circumstances, the family had stable housing and consistent meals, and Rita attempted to maintain her academic performance with varying success.
In 1939, Rita began leaving McKinley High School in the afternoons, feeling overwhelmed by the noise and activity of the school environment. She was prescribed calcium and nerve medication to address what was diagnosed as a nervous condition. During this period, her mother's mental health appeared to deteriorate, and arrangements were made for Mae to stay with a relative in Philadelphia. Rita, however, remained in Canton and experienced feelings of guilt about her mother's absence. She attempted to maintain a routine and earned money by performing baton-twirling. She expressed a persistent fear that her circumstances would not improve and that her mother would not recover.
Rizzo also gave baton lessons and worked in a factory that produced liturgical candles, sending part of her earnings to her mother in Philadelphia. During this time, she missed nearly two months of school near the end of her junior year and failed three subjects. She enrolled in summer school without informing her mother. As a consequence, she had to relinquish her position as drum majorette, a role she had found personally affirming and which had helped her become comfortable in front of crowds.
When her mother returned from Philadelphia, her condition had improved. Rita arranged for her to take the civil service examination, which she passed, and in 1941, Mae secured employment as a bookkeeper, providing her with financial stability and emotional balance. Rita graduated from McKinley High School that same year.
In December 1940, Rizzo experienced an episode of abdominal pain and diarrhea. Her condition persisted, and by early 1941, she was experiencing spasms approximately three times per week. As her gastrointestinal symptoms worsened, her grandparents arranged for her to be examined by their physician, Dr. James Pagano. Suspecting complications, he initiated treatment for potential ulcers or gall bladder issues. The prescribed treatment did not alleviate her symptoms, however, and by November she had lost 20 pounds. X-rays subsequently identified a diagnosis of gastroptosis. Use of a medical support belt led to an improvement in her symptoms and allowed her to manage daily life more comfortably.
Healing and religious vocation
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Rizzo obtained a position early the next year in the advertising department of the Timken Roller Bearing Company, a major manufacturer of gun barrels. Serving as secretary to the vice president of advertising, she was considered successful in her role. In April 1942, her abdominal pain intensified and could no longer be managed with her existing medical belt. Dr. Wiley Scott prescribed a larger belt or corset, which alleviated the pain and allowed her to return to work. However, by November 1942, she experienced worsening symptoms, including inability to sleep or eat, and the surgical corset caused skin blisters.