In the past 175 years, the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland left France, traveled to the newly established Diocese of Cleveland, founded their first school here and began a legacy of service in all levels of education, in parish and health care ministries, in social justice – including missionary work – and in social services, responding throughout the years to the ever-changing needs in the diocese.
“None of these accomplishments happened in a vacuum,” said Sister Laura Bregar, OSU, congregational president.
She outlined what she described as “175 years of joyful service” to a packed house at a recent program for the First Friday Club of Cleveland.
Sister Bregar had a long career in education as a teacher and administrator in addition to her years in congregational leadership and in the sisters’ development office. She was introduced by Sister Susan Durkin, OSU, another longtime educator and former member of the congregational leadership team who serves as the executive director of the Women Religious Archives Collaborative.
“This sacred story is not mine alone,” Sister Bregar said, pointing out more than 1,000 Ursuline sisters have contributed to their legacy in the diocese. The congregation was established in 1535 by St. Angela Merici in Brescia, Italy and spread throughout Europe, including France, before arriving in Cleveland in 1850 at the request of the first diocesan bishop, Amadeus Rappe, who also hailed from France.
Within three weeks after arriving here, the four Ursuline sisters and an English laywoman, led by Mother Mary of the Annunciation Beaumont, opened Ursuline Academy and welcomed 300 students. It continues to operate as Beaumont School, a girls’ high school in Cleveland Heights.
In 1853, they opened St. Patrick School in Ohio City, launching the Catholic school system in the diocese. St. Patrick later merged with St. Malachi School to create what now is Urban Community School on Cleveland’s West Side.
In 1854, the Ursulines established foundations in Toledo and Tiffin which later merged. In 1874, six Ursulines formed the foundation in Youngstown. Toledo and Youngstown became autonomous communities.
The sisters opened Ursuline College, one of the state’s first colleges for women, in 1871 on Cleveland’s East Side. It moved to its current Pepper Pike campus in 1966.
A boarding school and day school for girls, later named Villa Angela Academy, opened in 1878 on the shores of Lake Erie. Villa Angela merged with the nearby all-boys St. Joseph High School in 1990, forming the coed Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School.
The sisters moved their motherhouse several times over the years before building a new facility, Merici Crossings, in 2016 in Pepper Pike.
Fourteen sisters ministered 1968-2014 at the diocesan mission in El Salvador. They included Sister Dorothy Kazel, OSU, one of four churchwomen killed by Salvadoran guardsmen on Dec. 2, 1980, during the country’s civil war.
Tragedy struck the congregation once again on March 27, 1995, when Sister Joanne Marie Mascha was attacked and murdered by a mentally disturbed neighbor while she was walking in the woods bordering the congregation’s property. Although prosecutors sought the death penalty, then-superior Sister Maureen McCarthy appealed for clemency and the man was spared the death penalty. The murder led to the founding of Women Watch, a consciousness-raising effort focusing on violence against women, and to the Ursulines’ stance against capital punishment.
The sisters’ legacy from 1850 to 2025 is presented in “Bonds of Charity,” a recently released book authored by Richard Osborne with Sister Cynthia Glavac, OSU, editor and congregational archivist. The presentation also included a short anniversary video.
“What’s next? I don’t know,” Sister Bregar said. “But I believe our future is bright and I end with a note of hope in this Jubilee Year of Hope.”
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