Feast day: May 29
Saint Ursula began life as Julia, but took the name Ursula after becoming an Ursuline nun. She founded the Ursulines of the Sacred Heart, or Gray Ursulines, in 1906. She founded a house for Polish children in St. Petersburg, Russia, until she was forced to relocate to Finland due to government opposition to the Catholic faith.
Ursula translated and published a Finnish catechism, and relocated to Rome at the request of Pope Benedict XV. She was a noted presenter and was asked to speak before national leaders and royals for the cause of Polish independence.
She died in her convent in Rome. During World War II, the Sisters in Warsaw hid Jewish children during German raids and transferred many to their other institutions in Poland. Saint Ursula Ledóchowska famously said: “Holiness 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.”
Her order continues her work today across the globe.
(Image via Wikipedia)
