![[Saint Ursula Ledochowska]](http://saints.sqpn.com/saintu13.jpg "8kb jpg photograph of Saint Ursula Ledochowska, date unknown, photographer unknown; swiped off the Vatican web site")
Also known as
- Julia Ledóchowska
- Urszula Ledóchowska
Profile
Daughter of Count Anthony Ledochowska, a Polish noble, and an Austrian mother. One of five children in a pious family; sister of Saint Theresa Ledochowska. Due to financial failure, the family moved to Saint Poelten, Austria in 1873. Her father died of smallpox in February 1885, and Julia’s uncle Cardinal Lebo assumed responsibility for them.
Julia felt a call to religious life, and became an Ursuline nun, taking the name Ursula. Founded the Ursulines of the Sacred Heart (Ursuline Sisters of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, Gray Ursulines) in 1906 with the motherhouse in Pniewy, Poland. Missionary to Russia in 1907 by order of Pope Pius X. Expelled during the Communist Revolution, she continued her work throughout Scandanavia. Translated and published a catechism in Finnish. At the request of Pope Benedict XV, she moved to Rome. From there she administered her Order, and inspired others. A noted orator, she frequently spoke before royalty and national leaders. Called for, and defended the right of Polish independence. The Gray Ursulines continue their work today in Poland, Italy, France, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Finland, Germany, Tanzania, Belarus, and Ukraine.
Born
- 29 May 1939 in the Gray Ursuline convent, Via del Casalet, Rome, Italy of natural causes
- incorrupt body transferred to the Gray Ursuline motherhouse in Pniewy, Poland on 29 May 1989
- 14 May 1983 by Pope John Paul II (decree of heroic virtue)
- 20 June 1983 by Pope John Paul II at Poznan, Poland
- 18 May 2003 by Pope John Paul II at Vatican Basilica
Additional Information
- Beatifications of Pope John Paul II
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Catholic Youth Networking
- L’Osservatore Romano
- L’Osservatore Romano français
- L’Osservatore Romano italiano
- L’Osservatore Romano polska
- L’Osservatore Romano russian
- Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Readings
You must never ask Jesus to wait. - Saint Ursula
[It] is not enough to pray, Thy kingdom come, but to work, so that the Kingdom of God will exist among us today. - Saint Ursula
Holiness does not demand anything great, beyond the ability of the person. It depends on God’s Love; every daily act can be transformed into an act of love. - Saint Ursula
MLA Citation
- “Saint Ursula Ledochowska”. Saints.SQPN.com. 17 September 2012. Web. 23 May 2013. <http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-ursula-ledochowska/>