Our Patroness

Angela Merici, daughter of a pious, middle-class farm family, was born in Desenzano, Italy, around 1474. Angela lived in a time of war, civil strife, and violence; a time of great progress in science, travel, the arts, and agriculture; a time of great holiness and of great corruption; a time of church reform and of church oppression and scandal. Angela, a product of that time, continually allowed the Holy Spirit to transform her life. Living most of her life in Brescia, a city in northern Italy, Angela became well-known for her ministry of service to the marginalized: the displaced, the poor, the orphaned, the sick, and – especially – women.

Angela saw women as significant agents of change in a world longing for love, unity, and harmony. While still in her teens, Angela received a vision instructing her to form a “company of women” to further the work of God. On November 25, 1535, Angela and 28 young women formed the Company of Saint Ursula. Members lived in their own homes or with one or two other members of the Company. They were to be women of prayer and virtue with a simple rule, and they had spiritual leaders to whom they would be accountable and who would strengthen and direct them.

After Angela’s death on January 27, 1540, the Company of Saint Ursula spread rapidly. Ursuline communities were established quickly in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. Today, thousands of Ursuline Sisters work to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ on six continents, in schools as well as in ministries to the poor and oppressed.