Saint Monica of Tagaste

Saint Monica (c. 331–387 A.D.) was a Christian noblewoman from Tagaste, North Africa, revered throughout the Church as the model of maternal patience, persistent prayer, and holy perseverance. Married to a pagan official named Patricius, Monica won her husband and mother-in-law to Christ through her gentle charity. For nearly two decades, Monica shed tears and offered daily prayers for the conversion of her brilliant but wayward son, Augustine. Saint Ambrose famously comforted her with the prophetic words: "It is impossible that the son of so many tears should perish." Her prayers were gloriously answered when Augustine was baptized in Milan in 387 A.D. Shortly before her death at Ostia, Monica told Augustine: "Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight... One thing only there was for which I desired to linger in this life, that I might see thee a Catholic Christian before I died."