Who We Are
A member from Eastern Canada writes:
FINALLY HOME!
I never imagined myself to be a part of this way of life!
But at my final consecration I felt that I was finally home!
My father owned a parcel of land which was not enough to sustain our family of fourteen children. Without financial support I could not finish my nursing degree at University. My father encouraged me to work abroad as a domestic helper so that I could help our family with our difficult situation. I immigrated to Canada from the Philippines in 1990.
My only dream was to help my family, get married someday and have a family. I did have a relationship which didn’t work out. God had a different plan for me.
Our family did not go to church every Sunday and there was little practice of the Catholic faith at home. Yet we prayed during difficult situations. One time, during a typhoon, our dad woke us up at night to pray that our crops would be spared.
Later I had a deep longing to know and to have a relationship with God. A friend invited me to a Catholic Charismatic group. I felt the presence of God for the first time, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and a deep sense of joy. I continue to belong to this group and to take leadership. But I still felt that something was missing.
At Mass one day, a woman asked me if I was a nun because she had observed that I always wear a skirt. I said, “No, I’m just used to wearing a skirt whenever I go to church”. Then she told me about the Company of St. Ursula, a Secular Institute, a form of consecrated life. I remembered my mother’s comment years ago, that I should become a nun. I had replied, “How can I help you if I become a nun?”
The Company was my answer. I could totally offer my life to Jesus Christ and continue to help my family through my employment as a care-giver and domestic helper, as I am responsible for my own financial decisions.
I began my formation in Toronto in 2014. At times I had doubts and questions, but signs of God’s presence encouraged me to continue.
I prayed that the day of my consecration for life would be sunny, but it rained. Instead of feeling blue, I rejoiced because it reminded me of my baptism. Also I had made my confession before Mass. I was surrounded by friends. I was “finally home”. Truly God is good all the time!
Florida, Toronto, ON
A member from Western Canada writes:
A NEW SHOOT
During January 2011, the city of San Antonio experienced a frost and a bit of snow. The trees really took a ‘hit’. The dead branches were cut off and I thought that it was the end of this tree. But to my surprise, within a short time, it sent out a new shoot!
I took a photo because this event spoke to me of new life coming from what had appeared to be dead. It was an inspiration to me at a time when I was searching to know the future of the Ursulines of Prelate, the Congregation to which I belonged.
“Asking, seeking and knocking” aptly described my experience for about twenty years. St. Angela’s original way of living consecrated life in the world, the Company of St. Ursula, which dates back to 1535, came to mind during a retreat day. I experienced a sense of peace and a sense of wholeness as I sat with this thought and possibility of new life.
The “kairos” time to more seriously pursue this way of life came when I was free of my duties to care for the elderly – the Sisters and my Dad RIP, during January 2016. I visited one of the Companies in Canada – the Toronto area group. I felt a kinship with this multicultural group of women living their consecrated life in the world with the support of one another. After much reflection, consultation and prayer, I decided to transfer to this Company.
The three-year transition period, required by the Vatican to transfer from a Religious Congregation to a Secular Institute, concluded on Dec. 1, 2019. The Company of St. Ursula in Toronto has welcomed me with open arms and the Ursuline Sisters of Prelate gave me encouraging words of blessing. My recommitment to God within the Company was solemnized during a Eucharistic celebration in Toronto on Sept. 11, 2021.
I am a retired teacher, financially independent and living in an apartment complex. I find it life-giving to be involved in relationships and activities which revolve around a co-operative garden, the national Development and Peace organization, and other parish, community and diocesan initiatives. I continue to listen for the ways in which I am to respond to the needs of the world, locally and globally. Prayer for these needs is primary.
I experience energy, joy and freedom in my daily life. The Company may offer a way of living the charism of St. Angela into the future – hopefully a new shoot will spring forth!
Bernice, Saskatoon, SK
Who We Are
Drawn by a deep inner call, we give ourselves to God by a firm and life-long commitment of celibate chastity, poverty, and obedience. We devote ourselves to:
Founded by St. Angela Merici in 1535, the Company is a secular institute, a form of consecrated life in the Catholic Church.
Would you like to learn more? Please send us a message here!
The Company of St. Ursula, founded by Angela Merici, began in Quebec, Canada in 1967 under the leadership of Jacqueline Morin (1925-2017).
The Company of St. Ursula began in Toronto in 1978; Marcella Hinz (1927-2014) was an inspiring leader in the foundation of the Company of Toronto.
From the founding inspiration in North America, groups have begun in the USA, the Philippines and Western Canada.
Let them have Jesus Christ for their only treasure, for there also will be love.
– Angela Merici