History Of The Ursulines In England (1851-2022)

From 1535 Till Now

With the foundation of the Company of St Ursula in Brescia, northern Italy, in 1535, Saint Angela Merici offered to young women of her day an alternative to enclosed religious life. It was a most daring initiative for the time. The members of the Company were consecrated to  God, but without vows and living in their own homes and continuing their work. The form of government of the Company was lay and feminine, making known to society Angela’s confidence in a woman’s ability to discern, to judge for herself, to govern herself.

After Angela’s death, Companies were founded in several cities in Italy, with Rules more or less the same as the Company of Brescia. Gradually the members came to live together and, in answer to a need of the times, they were often asked to teach in the schools of Christian Doctrine, set up after the Council of Trent (1545 -1563) to combat religious ignorance.

The Companies in Italy continued until the early part of the 19th century when most were suppressed by Napoleon. The Company of St Ursula in Brescia was refounded in 1866 by Maddalena and Elisabetta Girelli and this was followed by others. Today the Companies are recognised as Secular Institutes.

From Homes To Convents

Angela’s charism is like a root with many branches and is expressed also in the form of religious congregations.  In France, towards the end of the 16th century, a Company was begun by a group of young women in Avignon. Other companies sprang up quickly in different places in France. But, by the beginning of the 17th century, following the decrees of the Council of Trent, many communities, for a variety of reasons, chose to become convents with enclosure and vows. The first was Paris in 1612. This was the beginning of the order of St Ursula.  Thus, the Ursuline way of life had changed, but the sisters continued their ministry of teaching Christian doctrine. The spirit of Angela’s charism of consecration and of ministry lived on but in a different form. This transition to monastic life was a major turning point. It gave rise to a great flowering of spirituality and led to an incredible expansion as education for girls became a priority.  

At the end of the 17th century, in France, there were 300 Ursuline convents. In the 18th century there were 400. It was these convents which sent missionaries to other countries. First throughout Europe then, from 1639 onwards, the Ursuline convents of Europe spread to all continents. This missionary zeal stemmed from a desire to make Christ known, but was also a consequence, at times, of persecution which forced sisters to leave Europe, and, at other times, the call of the local church.

Ursulines In England

The Ursuline Sisters first came to England in 1851 but were unable to find a suitable home either in London or Oxford.  When they returned in 1862 their good friend, Fr. James McQuoin, had found Grove House in Upton, now Forest Gate, where the sisters settled happily.  In a short time, they started a school for the local children as well as a flourishing boarding school.   Now, more than 150 years later, St Angela’s school educates young people from across East London.

In true Ursuline spirit their educational methods became sought after.  In a short time, they were invited to open convents and schools in Wimbledon, Brentwood, Hythe, and Ilford.

Just a few years after the Upton convent was established Ursulines fled from Duderstadt in Germany to Greenwich in south-east London.  St Ursula’s school and convent came to birth in 1877.

In the early part of the 20th century, as a result of being expelled from their convents in France, numerous Ursulines came to England: Crewe, Bideford, Warminster, Beaconfield and Thornton Heath to name just a few.  The Ursulines who came from Boulogne found a home in Westgate on sea, Kent where they settled to establish what is now Ursuline College.

Ursulines have been in the forefront of education in this country. Over the years they have adapted and undertaken numerous ministries. Their work has taken them to Liverpool, Shotton, Lancaster, Wythenshawe and many other parts of the country.

Missionaries From England

The early decades of the 20th century, particularly the period between the two World Wars, saw a great upsurge of missionary zeal throughout the Catholic Church. This was felt in parishes and also in schools where the Pontifical Association of the Holy Childhood stimulated great interest in missions. The Ursuline of the Roman Union took up this call, arranging that the newly found Missions should be supported by developed countries. So, England inherited the Caribbean and Southern Africa and long lasting bonding grew up between these provinces.

Mission awareness also became a feature of Ursuline schools, and in each school a sister was appointed with the extraordinary title Zelatrix . She was to set up an Ursuline Missionary League (UML) Her job was to stimulate interest and knowledge in missions and to make this tangible in practical ways.  Most English Ursuline students can recall exciting stories from missionaries of igloos in Alaska, Bush schools in Africa, pictures of St Anne’s orphanage in Georgetown and the many fundraising quizzes, raffles as well as the Annual Missions Fair.

Sr. Maureen Moloney Has Her Own Special Story:

When a student at St Angela’s, I attended as many Ursuline Mission League (UML)  meetings as I could. The Sisters running the after-school club worked very hard on preparing the content for us. This information gave us great inspiration and a wealth of knowledge of how people lived in different lands to ours.

We were often given handouts about specific “missions”. The flyer on Alaska prompted me to ask for an Alaskan pen friend. The Native American student I had was Angela Joseph from Andreafski. We corresponded for a long time but I rarely managed to read her letters first hand - my mother was so interested in them she opened and read them first, before I had arrived home from school.

Westgate

Since the creation of the English province Westgate was of great importance to Ursulines.  Most of us alive today received our introduction to the Ursuline way of life at Westgate under the guidance of Sister John Stahl.

It was after a period of discernment that we decided to close the community in Kent.  Despite covid we were able to give praise to God during a Mass in July 2021.

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