(*This is a later painting done of Saint Angela the founder of the Ursulines, but it is connected to an official Ursuline website, so I figured since it is their preferred choice it would be appropriate.)
In class, we mentioned the Franciscans today, an order for the men to
join to move toward a more emotive relationship with God and Jesus. These
orders offered more personal connections with God. The Franciscans also followed
tradition by living simply within the poverty that reflected Jesus’s own life (CP
25). Men also could choose from other orders, including the Dominican order.
Yet for women choices were more limited, either to the sisters orders, or the tertiaries of the Franciscans and Dominicans. These female offshoots of traditional
male orders did not reflect the male orders completely because these orders
still forced women to live in a cloister away from society. By living in a cloister,
these women could not create the same relationship with the Lord that the men
of their orders could.
Angela Merici broke away from tradition and created her own teaching
order, named the Ursulines, after their patron saint of Ursula (CP 33). The
reason Angela’s order was so special centered on her belief that there should
not be any required vows or claustration. Claustration is the forced acceptance
to live away from society, like in a cloister. For the Ursulines to be allowed
to move through society saw a break with tradition and linked them more closely
with the traveling Mendicants (CP 25). For Angela these women needed to learn
the word of God, but could say at their homes and show their piety through a
celibate lifestyle (St. Angela). Sadly, after Angela’s death the church forced the Ursulines
to accept claustration (CP 33). This period, the mid-sixteenth century, offered
very little education to most women so what Angela accomplished in teaching
young women about God showed her persistence in her message.
The other site that I used to find some of my information is here:
-Jenn Kervian
It is truly amazing the bravery of Angela Merici. In a time were it took even Francesca of Rome to gain permission from her husband to stay celibate, Angela was able to break social norms and bring fourth new ideas. I can't even imagine the kind of struggles that she had to go through to establish these new ideals.
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