Those of us who know Mother Angelica from her television ministry might be surprised to learn that her first forays into evangelism began just like the apostles: with fishing.

A reader sent me the following, from Fishing for History:

One of the most amazing fishing tackle stories of all-time centers on a group of Franciscan nuns in Ohio who decided to go into the tackle business. Calling their lures “St. Peter’s Fishing Lures,” they manufactured and sold a line of 16 different lures, ranging from worms and jigs to bucktails and plugs. Their amazing story, and the life of one of the most influential women of the 20th century, is told here.

One of the first mentions of this fascinating enterprise came from a Carl Barnhart newswire item, reprinted here from the 29 May 1961 Southern Illinoisian that read as follows:

A group of Franciscan Nuns in Ohio has gone into the fishing lure manufacturing business. All profits will go to their church. These lures will be called the St. Peter’s Fishing Lures—after the Big Fisherman. They have 16 worms, jigs, bucktails, and plugs. I’m told that each lure is sold with a built-in prayer for the user to have good fishing. I’m sure there are days when each of us can use all the help we can get.

Who were these enterprising nuns? How and why did they decide to get into the tackle business? Was this venture a success, or like most tackle businesses, a failure? The story is one of the neatest forgotten tales in the history of tackle manufacturing.

The genesis (pun intended) behind these piscatorial St. Peters was a remarkable nun by the name of Mother Mary Angelica who was a member of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, a Franciscan Order in Canton, Ohio. Born Rita Rizzo in Canton, she joined the order in 1953 and while living at the Santa Clara Monastery there, dreamt of opening a monastery in the deep South. She was told that not only would she have to raise the money for the monastery, but it would have to be self-supporting afterward—an almost impossible task for the time.

Undaunted, in 1958 Mother Angelica hit on an idea. “It was while I was praying,” she noted in an interview in The Family Weekly in 1962, “that I got an idea for making money for the new monastery.” The original idea? Sell fishing bait. She approached the Mother Superior with the idea of raising red worms for bait, but was immediately shot down. Undaunted, Mother Angelica prayed again—and the idea of manufacturing and selling fishing tackle was born.

The Franciscans gave their approval, but no one expected much. After all, how much money could be made selling fishing lures for .75 each? But Mother Angelica understood marketing. Before joining the cloister, she had worked in the advertising business, and used that experience to come up with an idea so audacious many thought her crazy.

Crazy like a fox. So crazy, she eventually was honored by Sports Illustrated for her contributions. Check out the rest of the story. And a cheerful h/t to author Todd E.A. Larson for spreading the gospel of fishing.