It’s been 10 years since Mother Angelica passed away, and many of us still mourn her absence.
In a clip from her funeral Mass on Friday, April 1, 2016, Father Miguel Marie, MFVA, of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, tells the story of her cat, who deeply missed her after her death.
Mikey, the cat who lived with Mother Angelica, was especially attached to her. The sisters told Father Miguel that whenever Mother Angelica went to the hospital, Mikey got anxious, as if he knew something was wrong.
When she returned, the little cat “settled in peacefully on top of a couch in Mother’s room.”
Father Miguel then shared that after her death, Mikey was again anxious and “longing for Mother to be back in her room.”
“Perhaps the little cat needs a Hail Mary or two in its own period of mourning,” the priest concluded.
Here is the full story Father Miguel told the congregation at Mother Angelica’s funeral:
“You know, we certainly miss Mother’s presence in our midst. And even Mikey misses her.
“Mikey is this little cat in her room. I was told that whenever Mother had to be in the hospital, Mikey tended to get anxious. I’ve never really seen a cat get anxious, but I trust the sisters’ word.
"And Mikey would get anxious. He would long for her to come back to her room. Not until she returned would Mikey settle in peacefully on top of a couch in Mother’s room.
"Well, I was told that Mikey has been anxious since Mother died. It’s like he’s longing for Mother to be back in her room.
"Perhaps the little cat needs a Hail Mary or two in its own period of mourning.
"You won’t hear that from a Jesuit homily—only a Franciscan homily.”