From Austria to Russia
Born Julia Ledóchowska in Austria in 1865, St Ursula entered the Ursuline novitiate in Kraków aged 21. The Ursulines are committed to educating girls and caring for the sick and the poor; Ursula devoted herself to these tasks, and amid the turmoil of the 20th century took the congregation in new directions.
Known for her piety – she would spend hours praying before the Blessed Sacrament – Ursula set up Kraków’s first residence for female university students. In 1907, by which time she was superior of the convent, she learnt Russian and went to St Petersburg to run a boarding school.
The community expanded in Russia, adding a convent and a boarding house, but in 1914, with the outbreak of war, Ursula was expelled.
Apostolate and holiness
She ended up founding a new congregation, known as the Grey Ursulines, who are present today in 11 countries.
As well as her labours in education, Ursula carried out an apostolate of the written word. Before Russia threw her out, she had translated songs and a catechism for the Protestant fishermen of Russia-controlled Finland. Once she was forced to move to Sweden, she set up a Catholic newspaper there.
“Holiness,” she wrote, “does not demand anything great, beyond the ability of the person. It depends on God’s love; every daily act can be transformed into an act of love.” She also wrote that praying “thy kingdom come” was not enough: we must also “work so that the Kingdom of God will exist among us today”. Under her leadership, the order expanded in Poland, working in education and on the margins of society.
A policy of love
Although Ursula became a significant public figure in the campaign for Polish independence – she was a well-connected figure and an admired orator – she was friendly with those of all political backgrounds, saying simply: “My policy is love.” She died in 1939; in 1989, her body was found to be incorrupt. She was canonised in 2003.
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