Ursuline students remember St. Angela

Annelise Ernst, Contributing writer

Old sneakers, grey Henley P.E. shirts and plaid skirts filled the pews of Ursuline Academy’s National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Gone was the staple dress uniform piece – the blazer – for this was no ordinary date for students on State Street.
 
It was Jan. 27 – St. Angela Merici’s Feast Day – a unique day rooted in Ursuline tradition.

St. Angela was the foundress of the Ursuline order. The name “Ursuline” stems from her devotion to St. Ursula. St. Angela lived her life in service to God, especially in her care for young women and girls, which during the 1500s was a rare focus. She sought to live a life in dedication to the humble teaching and service of those whom she encountered.

Now, almost 500 years later, St. Angela’s message has taken root in schools and orders of Ursuline sisters worldwide. Though her legacy has been manifested physically in foundations of religious education and in generations of pupils, it is not in these forms where her legacy can be identified in its greatest capacity. Rather, it is in ongoing action.

St. Angela said: “Act, move, believe, strive, hope, cry out to him with all your heart, for without doubt you will see marvelous things if you direct everything to the praise and glory of his Majesty and the good of souls.”

With this in mind, Ursuline Academy students from early childhood through 12th grade, faculty, parents and alumnae have answered the special calling to come together once a year and act in accordance with St. Angela’s teachings.

As a community serving as one body, we sang and played instruments at nursing homes, prepared meals at Second Harvest Food Bank and planted trees in Bayou Sauvage.

Togetherness, one of St. Angela’s principal themes, was emphasized during Mass: “Insieme, insieme, together. We’re moving the world, we’re making this day what it will be forever.”

St. Angela’s feast day and our service visits reminded us to be aware of something beyond our individuality. If we could somehow pass that spirit on to those we serve, we have acted in the spirit of St. Angela.

At the day’s conclusion , we returned to fill our school’s auditorium and listened attentively as representatives from each service group shared their day’s experience, what they did, how they felt and where they saw God.

For me, listening to these testimonies, seeing the smiles and giggles from the first graders, and hearing the thoughtful description of service performed at service sites like Ozanam Inn, conveyed a great picture.

Through being together and through sharing in my fellow students’ experiences, I was united in their action, their hope and their belief. It was not just me and my work. This was teaching. This was Insieme. This was St. Angela’s legacy, as it is our legacy.

Annelise Ernst is a senior at Ursuline Academy.