St. Angela’s feast day: Ursuline Academy’s ‘labor of love’

St. Angela Merici and 28 other women founded the Ursuline Sisters to be women of prayer and virtue, spiritual leaders who would strengthen and direct their lives in Christ. 
 

Ursuline Academy continues this ministry of pure love and kindness toward others today. 
 

The feast day celebration begins with a Mass to reflect on the community service planned by students from early childhood to seniors. The elementary grades visit nursing homes to shine a light in the residents’ day.
 

Sixth graders visit the War Veterans’ Home to converse with heroes and show them kindness of heart.
 

Each high school grade level is given an area of service that remains its focus the entire school year. Eighth graders care for the elderly; freshman teach children; sophomores care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; juniors serve the homeless; and seniors help restore our forested wetlands. 
 

At day’s end, all students come together to talk about their experiences and how they saw God in their service.
 

“I think what sets St. Angela’s Feast Day apart is not only that we serve nearly 20 service sites in one day, but how we come together as a school community and can reflect on how we saw the face of God everywhere we served,” said Dr. Tracy Bonday, head of Ursuline Academy’s high school. 
 

Many students begin to see how their impact has a lasting effect on others around them. 
 

“Experiencing that sense of community based on sacrificial service isn’t something you do once a year and forget about,” junior Madeline Kate Ford said. “Once you’ve really seen the effects people can have when they come together, you can’t help but seek it out elsewhere in your life and try to recreate it.”
 

Isabel Cambias is a junior at Ursuline Academy.