Ursulines

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Today is the feast of St Angela Merici who founded the Ursulines. As I understand the history, she founded a group of single women (virgins) to teach and care for the poor. They originally continued to live at home and had no habit. It was only after her death that the Ursulines as we know them -living in convents with habits - came to be.

My question is when orders were supposed to revert to the wishes of their founders, why didn’t the Ursulines? What are they like now and is there another group of Ursulines who live as St Angela originally envisioned?
 
Mrs_Sally said:
Today is the feast of St Angela Merici who founded the Ursulines. As I understand the history, she founded a group of single women (virgins) to teach and care for the poor. They originally continued to live at home and had no habit. It was only after her death that the Ursulines as we know them -living in convents with habits - came to be.

My question is when orders were supposed to revert to the wishes of their founders, why didn’t the Ursulines? What are they like now and is there another group of Ursulines who live as St Angela originally envisioned?
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When I was in Catholic school, the Ursulines were our teachers. I think they are based in Louisville, KY.
 
Lost_Sheep said:
When I was in Catholic school, the Ursulines were our teachers. I think they are based in Louisville, KY.
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Thanks. I’ll look for them. What were those Sisters like then? I assume they had a convent by the school/parish?
 
There is an Ursuline Motherhouse not far from me, and a convent near our parish. They used to teach in the parish. The convent is more like an apartment building. Most of them do not wear a habit. They dress in simple, modest street clothes, which, I have been told, they buy from thrift shops. They wear a special pin which denotes them as Ursuline sisters.

Lovely sisters.
 
Mrs_Sally said:
Today is the feast of St Angela Merici who founded the Ursulines. As I understand the history, she founded a group of single women (virgins) to teach and care for the poor. They originally continued to live at home and had no habit. It was only after her death that the Ursulines as we know them -living in convents with habits - came to be.

My question is when orders were supposed to revert to the wishes of their founders, why didn’t the Ursulines? What are they like now and is there another group of Ursulines who live as St Angela originally envisioned?
Click to expand...
I had some high school classes taught by Ursuline Nuns in Cathedral High. They were some of the best teachers & of kind spirit. They wore the traditional habit back then.
 
As I understand it the original idea was that is was something of a spiritual association of consecrated women and St. Angela did not intend it to be a religious community like most others. As such they were laity that lived with a rule like religious do. That type of group still exists in the Company of St Ursula (companyofstursula.org/.

The monastic order is what most people think of Ursulines or Ursuline Sisters. I think it was something like 30 or 40 years after their founding that a Italian bishop (Milan maybe?) encouranged them to live in community. It was at that point they took to convents and started to wear the habit. Since many (if not the majority) of Ursuline Sisters wore the habit for 400+ years it is hard to say they should return to wearing street clothes. Much would depend on if their foundress specifically said what they should wear or where they should live. As I understand it some Ursulines wear the habit and others don’t.
 
I’m finding that most Ursulines now do not wear a habit (as their founder decreed) and are still involved in education, but also other things like pro-life work - I also saw some great pictures of Sisters helping to build/repair houses! 😃 It looks like they still live in enclosure at some level and in community.

I did not know their founder or history before yesterday. This has been a fun research project! Anyone else with stories of Ursuline sisters? Either growing up or today?
 
Mrs_Sally said:
I did not know their founder or history before yesterday. This has been a fun research project! Anyone else with stories of Ursuline sisters? Either growing up or today?
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Having grown up in the Boston area and attending Catholic Schools(1960s-1970s) I learned that I was quite fortunate to be living at a time Catholics were safe. Catholics were not very welcome by protestants in the past - and still recall the story of the [Ursuline Convent in Charlestown, Ma](http://www.mas(name removed by moderator)ents.org/moment.cfm?mid=234), burned to the ground during a riot. It still comes to mind when I hear of the Ursuline sisters.
 
M-Dent said:
Having grown up in the Boston area and attending Catholic Schools(1960s-1970s) I learned that I was quite fortunate to be living at a time Catholics were safe. Catholics were not very welcome by protestants in the past - and still recall the story of the [Ursuline Convent in Charlestown, Ma](http://www.mas(name removed by moderator)ents.org/moment.cfm?mid=234), burned to the ground during a riot. It still comes to mind when I hear of the Ursuline sisters.
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Wow! What a terrifying, sad story.
 
There are several Ursuline monasteries in my country, one in my neighbourhood. As one of the sisters told me, each province has its customs on habits, and the only thing they all have in common (regarding their looks, of course) is the crucifix, but most wear the gray habit Their main occupation is education, in my city and country they run a number of kindergartens.
 
We visited the Ursulines in Quebec City on our honeymoon, and when we returned last fall. The museum was fascinating, to see all the sorts of things they used to teach girls. The sisters were kindness personified. The chapel was astoundingly beautiful and peaceful and is the testing place of the Blessed Marie a l’Incarnation.(who has a fascinating story). As a result of my experience there, I have come to recognize St. Ursula as my patron saint. Their history is intricately woven with that of Quebec. Unfortunately we mixed up our times and missed Mass in the Ursuline chapel, but got to experience the glory of the bells of dozens of churches ringing and echoing off the old stone buildings. I would recommend visiting the chapel to any Catholic! A truly Holy place.
 
I believe that one of St Teresa’s aunt was an Ursuline. Is that correct? The school she attended for a few years was run by them, right?
 
I went to Ursuline Academy for high school in Texas. It was founded around 1910 and was once a convent and had grades K - 12, but as fewer and fewer women joined the order it closed the lower school and I had very few nuns as teachers. I don’t know of any nuns there now.
 
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