The Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (Polish: ''Zgromadzenie Sióstr Urszulanek Serca Jezusa Konającego''), also known as the Grey Ursulines, is a Catholic order founded by Saint
Ursula Ledóchowska
Julia Ledóchowska, USAHJ (17 April 1865 – 29 May 1939) - in religious Maria Ursula of Jesus - was a Polish Catholic nun and the foundress of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus. Ledóchowska was a prolific supporter of Polish indepe ...
in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. At present the Congregation consists of over 900
sister
A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...
s in 14 countries. The sisters are committed to the service of poor people and specialize in providing educational opportunities.
History
The Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus was founded in 1920 by Ursula Ledóchowska in
Pniewy
Pniewy (german: Pinne) is a town in Szamotuły County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 7,747 inhabitants as of 2020 including 6 270 women and 5969 meThere is a lake and a beach with access to a playground, stage and a softball pitch. ...
, Poland.
["Polish Ursuline Sisters", Polonia Windsor]
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During World War II the Ursuline Sisters convent in Warsaw ran a soup kitchen for orphaned or abandoned children in central Warsaw. The sisters were also active in efforts to obtain “Aryan” documents for the Jewish children, protect those who looked Jewish, and hide them during German raids. In 1997, Yad Vashem recognized Sister Andrzeja, (Maria Górska) as Righteous Among the Nations. During the German occupation of Warsaw, Górska saved the lives of many Jewish children by smuggling them out of the ghetto, and transferring them to institutions belonging to the Ursuline Sisters, which had branches throughout occupied Poland.
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The first convent in North America was established in Windsor, Ontario in 1965. There the Sisters are involved in teaching the Polish language and culture, and cultivating Polish customs and traditions. They also teach in Canadian elementary and secondary schools.[
As of 2020, the Congregation consists of over 900 sisters in 100 communities in 14 countries on 5 continents:Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, Poland, Tanzania, Ukraine, Bolivia and Russia. The motherhouse and shrine of St. Ursula Ledóchowska is located in Pniewy.][ The generalate is in Rome.
]
Notable members
* St. Ursula Ledóchowska
Julia Ledóchowska, USAHJ (17 April 1865 – 29 May 1939) - in religious Maria Ursula of Jesus - was a Polish Catholic nun and the foundress of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus. Ledóchowska was a prolific supporter of Polish indepe ...
* Sr. Andrzeja Górska
See also
* Ursuline Sisters
References
External links
* http://www.sjk.pl
* http://www.sci.fi/~stan/ursula.htm
* http://www.orsolinescga.it
Ursuline Sisters
Ursuline Sisters
Ursulines
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