In the evenings, after finishing work in the fields, the whole family got together here and father Giovanni used to read aloud to his children about the lives of the Saints. This was to have great significance and importance for Angela’s future. It is thanks to these readings that the prospect of experiencing life, like the Saints, full of fervid and strong faith came to light in her mind while she was still a young girl.
Of those first years of Angela, we can be sure of what she herself confided: an early attraction for contemplative, sober and spiritual life; the search for favourable conditions for praying and meditation; spirit and the exercise of penitence. All this was interpreted and expressed as it could be done by a precociously intelligent and very sensitive little girl. It is not known how much her siblings joined her in her games and prayers and neither how much she was involved in her siblings’ work and play, nor what role she assumed inside the home. It is said that various misfortunes, over a brief period, soon destroyed the Merici family. Angela’s sister, mother and father all died, even if we do not know in which order. Angela, perhaps with her younger brother, then moved for a while to Salò, to her maternal aunt and uncle’s.
Itinerary:
Follow the signs for Centenaro; the little church appears after the fly-over bridge on the left, spot No. 6 (The little Church in "Machetto").
