-

 

Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph (USA)
8001 Cummings Road
Maple Mount, KY 42356-9999
Tel: 270-229-4103 – Fax: 270-229-4127
dan.heckel@maplemount.org
www.ursulinesmsj.org
Today
The Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph in Maple Mount, Kentucky, proclaim Jesus through ministries of education and Christian formation in the states of Kentucky, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York and Tennessee, as well as in Washington, D.C. The sisters maintain one foreign mission, Casa Ursulina in Chillan, Chile. The sisters, numbering more than 130, support their apostolic life by prayer and contemplation.
The Ursuline Associates unite the laity with the mission of the Sisters. Associates share prayer, celebration and hospitality with the Ursuline community, while living their own vocations and spreading the spirit of Saint Angela in their workplace and environment. Associates gather every summer at Mount Saint Joseph for prayer, formation and fun with the sisters during Associates and Sisters Day.
History
In 1874, at the request of Father Paul Joseph Volk, five Ursuline Sisters from Louisville, Kentucky, traveled by flatboat down the Ohio River to what is now Maple Mount to open Mount Saint Joseph Academy, a school for girls. In 1895, an English-speaking novitiate was opened. In 1912, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph became an independent community. Their centennial celebration has featured service to others throughout 2012. Sisters, Associates and alumnae committed themselves to centennial service projects built around the number 100, for example, collecting 100 items for charity, 100 hams for a food pantry, 100 books for Catholic school libraries in nearby Owensboro, etc.
In 1925 the Ursulines opened Mount Saint Joseph Junior College for Women. In 1950, it was moved to nearby Owensboro, as the co-educational Brescia College, (now University). Today, several of the Ursuline Sisters continue to serve at Brescia. Upon the closing of Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1983, the buildings were renovated as the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2013.
Once primarily teachers, the Ursuline Sisters have branched out into parish ministry, nursing, social justice and a myriad of other ministries, while still maintaining a presence in schools and universities.
The Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph were greatly blessed to join with two other Ursuline communities during the first decade of the 21st century. The Ursulines of Belleville, Illinois, joined with Mount Saint Joseph in 2005, and the Ursulines of Paola, Kansas, in 2008. These women of faith have greatly enhanced the spirituality of all the sisters.
Countries where the congregation is present
USA, Chile'