Merici

Merici is an Italian surname best known for Angela Merici (c. 1474–1540), a Catholic religious educator and founder of the Company of Saint Ursula, commonly known as the Ursulines. Born in Desenzano del Garda in the region of Lombardy, she dedicated her life to spiritual reform and the education of girls. In Brescia she gathered a community of women who lived a life of prayer and service, and in 1535 this community took formal shape as the Ursulines, a teaching order that would later establish schools across Italy, Europe, and the Americas. The Ursuline tradition emphasized Christian formation and education for young women, a hallmark of Merici’s reform efforts.

Merici’s work contributed to a broader movement of Catholic education for girls and the professionalization of female teaching within religious communities. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, and her legacy endures through the continued existence of Ursuline institutions and the many schools, colleges, and centers named in her honor.

In contemporary contexts, the surname Merici appears in Italian genealogical records, and institutions linked to the Ursulines or to Angela Merici’s educational mission—such as schools and colleges named Merici—continue to reflect her influence. While Angela Merici remains the most prominent bearer of the name, the term Merici also functions as a reference point for discussions of Catholic education, women’s religious communities, and the history of educational reform in early modern Europe.