Ursulines of the Americas Rejoice

Pope John Paul II declared Venerable Mary of the Incarnation Blessed on June 22, 1980. At the same ceremony the Holy Father declared Blessed a Bishop of Quebec, Francis de Montmorency-Laval; an Indian who was born in the present United States and died in the present Canada, Katherine Tekakwitha; a missionary of Guatemala; and a missionary of Brazil. Both Bishop Laval and Katherine Tekakwitha, were contemporaries of Mary of the Incarnation. Both were linked to her, one as her ecclesiastical superior and the other as a representative of the Indians, whom she loved.

For many years daughters of St. Angela worldwide had supported by prayer and other means the Cause of Venerable Mary, the mother of the ‘Union Canadienne.’ All Ursulines joined in prayers of thanksgiving for the Beatification. 

Aside note – (Mary of the Incarnation was canonized a saint on April 3, 2014. Her feast day is April 30.)

Mourning a Martyr

On behalf of the Community, Sister Justine Hill extended sympathy and prayers to the Cleveland Ursulines on the tragic death of Sister Dorothy Kazel in El Salvador: 

the murders of three sisters and a lay missionary called the attention of the world to the denial of human and civil rights in El Salvador. The example of Sister Dorothy, working at great personal risk among the poor, is a stirring example for all of us who strive to respond fully to the love of the Lord.

Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, MM and Jean Donovan were martyred with Sister Dorothy Kazel on December 4, 1980.