URSULINES OF THE CANADIAN UNION - Angelamerici.it

URSULINES OF THE CANADIAN UNION
Maison générale des Ursulines
1358 rue Barrin
Québec QC GIS 2G8
Tel: 418- 683-0671 – Fax: 418- 681- 4740
ursule.uc.mg@videotron.ca
www.ursulines-uc.com
Today
The Ursulines of the Canadian Union are the heirs of a centuries-old educational
tradition. They bear the spiritual genes of Angela Merici and of Marie of the
Incarnation, who were animated by an astonishing apostolic zeal. For man y years,
even in the cloister, they received pupils within their walls – just as in Quebec, so
also in Japan and Peru – for primary and secondary education and also for the
form ation of teachers. In Quebec the religious are no long responsible for pri vate
schools, but they continue to support an educational project inspired by Angela
Merici in the spirit of Gospel values. There the accent is placed on attention to the
person, the strength of unity in living together, and the power of love as a gift of
God. Ursulines and la y persons are fully engaged, through their presence, in
keeping alive in the schools and colleges that which takes us most to the heart in
our long tradition.
The religious are also engaged in different areas of pastoral ministry in parish and
hospital settings and in diocesan services. Some of them lead retreats and general
chapters for diverse communities, offer quite varied spiritual programs nearly
everywhere and for different groups: laity, religious, and diocesan priests. Centers
for spiritualit y and retreats conducted by Ursulines in Quebec and in the
Philippines provide different services in the area of spirituality.
Sisters collaborate in multiple social services on behalf of poor wandering persons,
handicapped people with problems adapting or learning. Others are in vol ved in the
promotion of women, in welcoming mothers and infants, in helping with school
homework, and in ecological and environmental struggles.
Com m unit y ser vices call for several form s of help in general, provincial, and local
administration, in coordinating the works, and in services such as reception,
kitchen, sewing, laundry, building maintenance, accounting, secretarial, archives
and library, liturgy, and caring for the sick.
Let us point out that sisters are also present in the domain of the arts, music, and
painting, in handicrafts, and in literature through book publication.
History
Three Ursulines arrived in Quebec from Tours, France, on August 1, 1639: Marie of
the Incarnation and two companions, Sister Saint Joseph and Sister Cecilia of the
Holy Cross. One lay foundress, Madame de la Peltrie, financed this project and
accompanied them.
Marie of the Incarnation (legal name Marie Gu yart), had first been the wife of
Claude Martin; the mother of a son, also named Claude; and then had been
widowed when she was nineteen years old. A woman of prayer, of action, and of

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apostolic zeal, she responded to the Lord’s call, entrusted her son to responsible
people and to Providence, and entered the Ursulines of Tours at the age of thirtyone.
Angela Merici had recommended to her daughters that they be inspired by “love
of God and zeal for t he sal v a tion of souls.” The y did this in Fra nce b y de votin g
themselves to the education of girls. Marie of the Incarnation, having seen
Canada in a dream and having heard the Lord say to her, “You must go to build
a house for Jesus and Mary,” obtained her superiors’ permission to embark for
Canada. The Ursulines planted themselves in Quebec and there too devoted
themselves to the education of girls, consecrating themselves to this mission by a
fourth vow until 19 2 8. Until her death on April 30, 16 7 2 , Marie Gu y a rt of the
Incarnation spent herself with great generosit y a mong the American Indian
girls and young Frenchwomen. Her abundant correspondence would reveal to
France and to Canada this woman of faith and of action, an educator and a
mystic.
The monastery of Quebec founded the monastery of Trois-Rivières in 1697 and
one in Rimouski in 1906. Each of the three monasteries ga ve birth to other
monasteries that can be found on the website www.ursulines-uc.com. These
monasteries formed the Canadian Union in Quebec in 1953. Its three provinces –
Quebec, Trois-Rivières, and Rimouski – regrouped in 2008 into a single province
called the Province of Quebec.
In Japan, the first Canadian Ursulines arrived at Sendai in 193 6, sent by the
com m unit y of the monastery of Quebec. Then, in 1949, the Ursulines of the
monastery in Rimouski founded a mission at Hakodate, which moved to
Hachinohe in 1950. In 1953, at the time of the foundation of the Canadian
Union, the communities in Japan formed a single community under the name of
the region, becoming a vice-province and then a province in 1975. The Province
of Japa n opened missions in Tok yo in 1 9 7 2 , in Ya gi in 1 9 7 4 (closed in 200 4), a nd
in Shimoda in 1985. In 1989 it extended itself to the Philippines, specifically to
Mati. A retreat house was also opened in Mati in 1998. A community lived in
Mana y from 1998 to 2004, and another opened in Davao in 2010.
In Peru, the Ursulines of Trois-Rivières settled in Auca yo, along the Amazon, in
1961; they founded a mission in Yanashi in 1964, then one in Lima in 1967. The
Ursulines of Peru, in turn, settled in 1968 on the outskirts of Quito in 1968. They
took charge of the College of our Lady of Fatima, a pre-school, primar y, and
secondar y educational institution belonging to the State but directed by the
Ursulines. Peru was recognized as a province in 1975.
In Haiti, one sister has been serving since 2002, especially in the medical sector.
Countries where the Canadian Union is present
Canada, Japan, Peru, Philippines
Links
www.ursulines-uc.com
SANT’ANGELA E SANT’ORSOLA
Centro Internazionale di Studi