Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, founder of the Catholic TV powerhouse EWTN, died Easter Sunday at age 92, the network confirmed Sunday night.

She succumbed about 5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) in Hanceville, Alabama, to the aftereffects of a stroke she suffered many years ago, according to the network's Catholic News Agency.
Mother Angelica — born Rita Antoinette Rizzo in Canton, Ohio, in 1923 — began what would become the Eternal Word Television Network in Irondale, Alabama, in 1981 with $200 and 12 nuns and little television experience.



IMAGE: Mother Angelica in 1999



Mother Angelica in March 1999. AP
The network opened a German edition of its Catholic News Agency in Munich in October, by which time it employed more than 400 people broadcasting mainstream Catholic programming to more than 250 million homes in 144 countries from its headquarters in Irondale, population 12,000.
Mother Angelica, a member of the Franciscan Poor Clare Sisters, was the network's star for much of its history, dispensing traditional Catholic lessons and advice with both a look of reproval and a twinkle in her eye.
"I'm not here to win friends and influence people," she was fond of saying. "I'm here to do God's will."
Pope Benedict XVI bestowed the church's highest honor for laity, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award, better known as the Cross of Honor, on Mother Angelica in 2009 for "outstanding service and zeal." Pope Francis sent her his blessing and a prayer request last month from the papal plane on his way to Cuba.
With their "daily emphasis on the orthodox social teaching of the Catholic Church," Mother Angelica and EWTN became "the single most important para-church influence on the Catholic vote in the United States," conservative Catholic publisher Deal Hudson wrote in his 2008 book "Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States."
"EWTN is the closest thing to the Moral Majority or the Christian Coalition that Catholics have," he wrote."She founded and grew a network that appealed to everyday Catholics, understood their needs and fed their spirits," said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, a member of EWTN's board of governors.
"She had a lot of help, obviously, but that was part of her genius," Chaput told the Catholic News Agency.
EWTN said an invitation-only Mass of Christian Burial was scheduled for 11 a.m. (noon ET) Friday at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, where Mother Angelica founded Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in 1999.

Mother Angelica Live Classics - Death and Dying

 

BREAKING: Fr. Thomas Uzhunnalil was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday ~ Cardinal Schönborn confirmed the priest's martyrdom during the Easter Vigil

Austrian media is reporting that Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna confirmed last night, during the Easter Vigil at Stephansdom that the Salesian priest, Fr. Thomas Uzhunnalil was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday. Polonia Christiana is also carrying the news, based on the Austrian reports. 

Fr. Tom is now in Paradise with Our Blessed Lord and His Mother. May his murderers repent and come to believe in the Gospel. 
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke, 23:34) 
St. Thomas Uzhunnalil, pray for us. 
          Prayer of St. Francis Xavier for the Conversion of the Infidels
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that Thou alone didst create the souls of infidels, framing them to Thine own image and likeness; behold, O Lord, how, to Thy dishonor, hell is daily replenished with them. Remember, O Lord, Thine only Son, Jesus Christ, Who suffered for them, most bountifully shedding His precious blood. Suffer not, O Lord, Thy Son and our Lord to be any longer despised by infidels. But, rather, being appeased by the entreaties and prayers of the elect, the saints, and of the Church, the most blessed spouse of Thy Son; be mindful of Thy mercy, yet forgetful of their idolatry and infidelity. Cause all to know Him Whom Thou didst send, Jesus Christ Thy Son, our Lord, Who is our health, life, and resurrection, through Whom we are freed and saved, to Whom be all glory forever.  Amen.
UPDATE!!
"Several blogs and media outlets are reporting that Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday.
There has been no confirmation of the event by friends, family or Fr. Uzhunnalil’s community. The original reports were based on a statement Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna allegedly made during Easter vigil services.
Bishop Paul Hinder of Southern Arabia (a region in Saudi Arabia, the country just north of Yemen where Fr. Uzhunnalil was kidnapped), told CNA on Monday that he has “strong indications that Fr. Tom is still alive in the hands of the kidnappers,” but could not give further information in order to protect the life of the priest. "
From Catholic news agency.com...dated 3/28..I just found this story. So there appears to be hope..".
Cardinal Schonbonborn has since corrected his alleged statement" they noted.

Litaniae Sanctorum + Litany of the Saints / Litanie dei Santi