Happy Feast of St. Ursula!October 21, 2024

On the Catholic calendar, October is a great month for honoring some of our most revered saints: Therese of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Francis of Assisi, John XXIII, Luke the Evangelist, Ignatius of Antioch, the North American martyrs, Saints Simon and Jude, along with the Holy Rosary and the Guardian Angels.

For Ursulines, the biggest celebration is for Saint Ursula on October 21. Only one problem: you won’t find her on the calendar. Ursula’s story is more myth than fact.

I once heard that a myth is “something was never and is always true.” We can say that about Ursula and her companions. Their story or “myth” has been swirling around since the 10thcentury and has several versions:

Ursula was a fourth century Christian German princess betrothed to a pagan prince. She set conditions for her marriage: to be able to visit Rome accompanied by ten other holy women each with 1,000 maidens in waiting. They were captured at Cologne and slaughtered by the Huns when Ursula refused to marry their chieftain. OR

Ursula was a German princess forced to marry a pagan prince, but before doing so demanded to have three years to visit Rome and other cities on a pilgrimage with 11,000 virgins. They were captured and martyred at Cologne on the return trip. OR

Ursula and two to ten other virgins were martyred at Cologne by the Huns in the fourth century.

What we actually know: There was a church in Cologne restored around the year 400—the Church of St. Ursula—dedicated to up to 11 virgins martyred there. The name Ursula was not added to its inscription until the tenth century.

See the problem? We don’t know what is actually fact. But we do know that there were some virgin martyrs buried at Cologne and their bones were buried under a restored church. Because we don’t know who they were or if the actual name of one of them was Ursula, their feast was removed from the liturgical calendar.

At the time Angela Merici lived and founded the Company of St. Ursula in the mid 1500s, there was much devotion to the by-then legendary saint. Here is where what something that was never and is always true can be discerned: Ursula was an image of a strong, faith-filled woman, brave in the face of danger and true to her baptismal call—to the point of death. Her example can stand as true throughout any century. This is why Angela chose her as the patron of her Company, and this is one reason why Ursulines celebrate her into the 21stcentury.

Happy Feast of Saint Ursula!

Sister Elaine Berkopec