Society of the Sisters of Saint Ursula of the Blessed Virgin

In lieu of a religious habit Anne and her companions adopted the simple black dress of the Spanish widows in the area of Dole.

[1] The Constitutions are those of Saint Ignatius as far as they apply to women; the first draft was begun by Mother de Xainctonge, aided by Father Guyon, S.J., rector of the college at Dole, and was finished in 1623, after her death.

The new Motherhouses were Dole and Tours in France; Fribourg, Sion, and Brig in Switzerland; Villingen and Freibourg in Germany.

[1] In 1901 with the expulsion of the Society from France, Archbishop Michael Corrigan of New York invited the sisters to establish a community in the archdiocese.

The Society made its first foundation in the United States with the opening of a house at 523 West 142nd St. at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in the Hamilton Heights section of Manhattan, New York City, where they taught French and gave piano lessons until the Academy of Our Lady of Lourdes opened in 1903.

[6] In 1966 the Academy of St. Ursula became John A. Coleman Catholic High School, which in 1968 moved to a larger campus in Hurley.

Today, the Federation of the Society of Saint Ursula, numbering 600 Sisters, is present on four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.