Ursuline Sisters – Dare to Make A Difference
The Ursuline Sisters are women religious dedicated to empowering others to fulfill their mission in the church and continue God’s work in the world.Through collaboration with like-minded individuals, they strive to meet the challenges of society by extending the mission of Jesus through service.
The Ursuline Sisters follow in the footsteps of their founder, St. Angela Merici by establishing ministries that focus on knowledge, self-determination, and wisdom, all rooted in prayer and the commandment of Jesus to love one another. They possess a global vision, with a mission that recognizes the interconnectedness of all humanity.
With a strong heritage in educating and empowering women, the promotion of justice, responding to the needs of marginalized communities, and the preservation of the Earth and its inhabitants, the Ursuline Sisters dare to make a difference in the world.
Our Ministries
Education
Saint Angela founded the Ursuline Sisters in 1535 with a mission to educate and empower women, believing that education was the key to women’s spiritual and social elevation. The Ursulines have upheld this tradition, establishing schools around the globe, including the famous Ursuline Academy in New Orleans in 1727, which is the oldest continuously operating catholic school in the United States. The Ursuline Sisters of the Eastern Province founded four schools, two in New Rochelle, NY and one in Bronx, NY and Wilmington, DE. Today, they no longer are the owners but continue to serve as Members of the Board, providing oversight, and ensuring the institutions uphold their mission and purpose.
These institutions are:
Academy of Mount St. Ursula
The Academy of Mount Saint Ursula is located in Bronx, NY and is a
Blue-Ribbon School for Excellence in Education. Mount St. Ursula
serves the ever changing urban population of New York City and its
environs by educating and empowering college-bound young
women for leadership roles.
The Ursuline Academy
The Ursuline Academy is located in Wilmington, DE. It provides
holistic education of mind, imagination, and spirit, and empowers
students from pre-K to twelfth grade to be leaders in society and
the church.
The Ursuline School
The Ursuline School is located in New Rochelle, NY and is a Blue-Ribbon School for educational excellence. It educates sixth to twelfth grade girls in a rigorous course of studies that empowers them for leadership in society and the church.
The College of New Rochelle
The College of New Rochelle and the Ursulines had a special and historical relationship. The college, founded in 1904, was the first Catholic college for women in New York State. It closed its doors in 2019. While open, Ursulines served in a variety of ministries, as faculty, as administrators, and on the Board of Trustees. Its mission of service was its heritage and was the vision of its founders. Today the school lives on in its thousands of alumni who carry the traditions of The College of New Rochelle into the world.
Songcatchers
Songcatchers Inc. in New Rochelle, NY is a non-profit youth organization that provides access to high quality music education, training and enrichment to New Rochelle’s multicultural community of children and families. Children learn skills of personal development, public performance, team building, and the power of art.
Parish Ministry
Our parish ministry builds and empowers community among believers by religious education and preparation for the sacraments for children and adults, planning liturgical celebrations, visiting homebound parishioners, and the myriad of services that create a vibrant parish life.
Health Care and Drug Rehabilitation Services
Our health ministry includes midwifery, spiritual counseling, hospital chaplaincy, rehab counseling, ministering to the vulnerable, the ill, and the dying, such as AIDS patients, recovering addicts, the elderly infirm, and children.
The Arts and Writing
We contribute to the quality of life for both the faith and civic communities. The arts and writing humanize the social environment and enrich the individual imagination. Painting, photography, ceramics, music and song, dramatic presentations, educational and historical books, and spiritual and reflective works engage truth in creative forms.
Spiritual Directions and Retreat Work
Our retreat work helps deepen the spiritual life of those in search of meaning within the Christian religious tradition. Individual spiritual counseling, individual and group retreat work, and presentations at workshops and conferences transmit the spirituality of prayer and contemplation, of human wholeness, and the quest for finding God in all things.
Care for Senior Citizens and The Infirmed
We provide care to Senior Citizens and the Infirmed and attend to their basic needs such as food, shelter, health, enrichment, spirituality, and companionship through our work in hospice care, nursing facilities, senior centers, and our parishes.
