The Ursuline Sisters Daughters of Mary Immaculate ( Italian: ''Suore Orsoline Figlie di Maria Immacolata'') are members of a Verona-based Catholic congregation of sisters whose main purpose is the human and Christian training of young people.

History

In 1856

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatura ...

Zefirino Agostini Zefirino Agostini (24 September 1813 - 6 April 1896) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest that served in his hometown of Verona to perform his pastoral duties. He established two religious congregations in his lifetime being the Pious Union of Sis ...

, a parish priest, opened with some girls of an oratory of Verona a school for poor girls of the parish of Saints Nazarius and Celsus after he had asked for his bishop's permission. His work was supported by women who lived with their families and formed the Pious Union of Devout Sisters of Saint Angela, but in 1860 some of them started to live in community. In 1869 Luigi di Canossa, the

bishop of Verona 235px, The facade of ''Palazzo del Vescovado'' The Diocese of Verona ( la, Dioecesis Veronensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in northern Italy. The diocese belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Venice. The bishop of Verona ...

, got

to refound in his diocese the defunct company of Saint Ursula of Verona, a community inspired by the teachings of Saint Angela Merici. The "external" and "internal" members worked together until 1901, when the former embraced the rule of Saint Angela Merici and the latter adopted a new rule, forming a congregation of diocesan right, which became a congregation of

pontifical right In Catholicism "of pontifical right" is the term given to ecclesiastical institutions (religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See, or approved by it with the formal decree known by the Latin nam ...

in 1940. The congregation, which has about 650 member today, spread in Italy and settled in Madagascar in 1960, in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1964, in Uruguay in 1965, in Brazil in 1979, in Paraguay and Burkina Faso in 1992, in Peru in 2001, in Benin in 2002 and in Togo in 2006. In addition to the formal education of young people, it is involved in different activities, such as the

pastoral care Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from rel ...

, the

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

, the housing for people in difficulty, the student housing, the hostels and the dispensaries (in Madagascar).

References

{{Reflist, 30em Ursulines Catholic orders and societies Organisations based in Verona 1856 establishments in Italy Catholic organizations established in the 19th century Religious organizations established in the 1850s Religious organisations based in Italy