Bl. Maria Angela Astorch

Maria Angela Astorch was born in Barcelona on September 1, 1592. In 1603, she entered the Capuchin Poor Clare monastery begun by Angela Serafina Prat. Because of her young age she waited five years as an aspirant before beginning the novitiate on 7 September 1608.

As novice master, she went to Zaragoza on 9 May 1614 to found a new monastery there. In 1624, she was vicar and three years later, abbess. On June 2, 1645, she went with four other sisters to found a new monastery at Murcia, under the title "The Exaltation of the Blessed Sacrament." The new monastery suffered frequent floods, especially in 1651 and 1653. Maria Angela remained abbess until 1661. Maria Angela Astorch died in 1665 at the age of 75.