Be It Done Unto Me: The Legacy of Mother Angelica of the Annunciation

A reflection on a life transformed by Grace — and how her “Yes!” continues to echo across the world.

It could only mean one thing.

The sun had set. We were loading up the car after a long Easter Sunday visit with family. That's when I saw the name glowing on my phone screen...

"EWTN."

I didn't have to open the message. I already knew.

Somewhere in Alabama, Mother Angelica had slipped into eternity.

Her health had been in decline for some time, and about a year earlier, I'd been asked to serve as the pool photographer for her funeral whenever the time would come. There was only one condition: wherever I was, whatever I was doing, I would need to drop everything and come. Immediately.

And so it began.

I'd never been to Alabama. I'd never been to the South. I'd never set foot in Hanceville. This would be a journey of firsts.

But that felt fitting because Mother Angelica's entire life was a journey of firsts…and near impossibilities.

I had always been inspired by her: her wisdom, her wit, her unshakable faith. But looking at her life from a distance, I began to see it for what it truly was—a living testament to a spiritual Truth the saints have witnessed for centuries…

The simple Truth that Grace changes everything.

There's no other explanation. A cloistered nun with no formal training in media builds the largest Catholic communications network in the world from a converted garage in Irondale, Alabama? It sounds like the plot from a movie. But it wasn't fiction. It was Faith.

She said "Yes!" to God, and never looked back. And what began as a small effort to spread the Gospel became EWTN, a global media apostolate reaching hundreds of millions in multiple languages across every continent.

The Control Room at EWTN Television Studios at Irondale, Alabama.

And as miraculous as it all seems, perhaps Mother's story isn't the exception. Maybe it's the Way of Grace…

Saints throughout the centuries have borne witness to this same Truth...that God delights in working through the weak, the unqualified, and the overlooked. He chooses the small to shame the strong. He speaks through the lowly to correct the powerful.

St. Francis gave away everything and left an imprint that reshaped the Church.

Mother Teresa, armed with nothing but compassion and conviction, became an icon of Christ’s Mercy for generations.

And the Apostles, a handful of simple fishermen and tax collectors, Evangelized the entire world.

Each one of them said yes.

Each one was transformed.

Each one became a vessel of Someone far greater than themselves.

That's the Way of Grace.

And it's why Mother Angelica's story matters so much.

Because Grace is not an abstract concept, it's not reserved for mystics or theologians. It's as real as light that reveal the colors of a stained glass window, as personal as a whisper in prayer, and as powerful as a woman in a habit who, against all odds, changed the landscape of Catholic media forever.

Actor James Caveziel pays his respects to Mother Angelica on the morning of her funeral Mass at The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, located in Hanceville, Alabama.

Mother Angelica of the Annunciation passed into eternal life on Easter Sunday. That was no accident. It was Providence. Her whole life was a fiat—a yes to God's will. And like Mary, that yes bore fruit far beyond what she could have imagined.

I never met Mother in life. But I met her legacy. I saw it etched into the faces of those who loved her. Those who prayed beside her. Those who worked with her, suffered with her, and stood vigil at her final farewell.

Being there, being part of that sacred moment, remains one of the greatest honors of my life, and it was in that moment, I finally understood that in the end, Mother Angelica's greatest legacy wasn't just building EWTN.

It was in showing us the power of His Grace.

It's about letting God transform our ordinary into His Extraordinary.

And if we dare to say yes—He will.

The Blessed Sacrament was exposed for Adoration in the days leading up to Mother Angelica’s Funeral Mass.

The quietest procession in Alabama history…a caravan of souls she’d carried to Christ, now carrying her home.

Hanceville’s humble streets remembering the nun who turned their town into a beacon for the world.

The last vehicle she’d ever ride. Not a limousine, but a hearse for the Poor Clare who traded earthly glory for eternal gain.

Strong hands bore her weight, just as she’d borne the Church’s needs for decades with stubborn faith.

Michael Warsaw, CEO of EWTN places the Pall over Mother Angelica’s Casket.

Her weapon of choice: five decades of beads that built more than any broadcast tower ever could.

Tears weren’t just for loss, but for gratitude, for the nun who proved that a cloistered life could touch the whole world.

In peaceful surrender, the warrior nun who fought for truth now rests. Her hands that built an empire finally still, her heart that loved God first now seeing Him face to face.

One by one they came, the hidden army she formed through cameras, TV screens and radio waves.

They came not to mourn a death, but to celebrate a life that taught them how to live.

Even the smallest hands offered prayers, proof that Mother’s legacy would bloom in generations she’d never meet.

Every rosary pressed against the wood, every whispered prayer, evidence that her mission would be carried on by those who’d follow in her footsteps.

The next generation of priests, formed by her teachings, now praying for the nun who taught them media evangelization.

A sea of veils, a tide of prayer: Mother’s spiritual daughters mourning the woman who taught them to love both God and grit.

Like Mary at the Cross, she wept and trusted, because Mother had taught her that every Annunciation leads to an Easter.

Thousands gathered in Hanceville to bid farewell to Mother Angelica, a testament to a life that touched millions without leaving the cloister.

The cloister in which she lived her now cradles her for eternity.

The final ‘Fiat’…placed into the crypt’s embrace, where the nun who built an empire rests at last in the shadow of the shrine she loved. No more microphones, only the eternal ‘Amen’ of heaven with the Choirs of Angels and Saints.

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You have my heartfelt thanks for your generosity and support and please keep me in your prayers, and know of mine for each of you. God Bless, Jeff