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Ursuline Motherhouse
4250 Shields Road
Canfield, OH 44406
Tel: 330-792-7636 - Fax: 330-792-9553
tarich@theursulines.org
www.theursulines.org

Today
The Ursulines of Youngstown are Catholic nuns who respond together to the most critical needs of God’s people in the greater Mahoning Valley in northeastern Ohio and have done so since 1874 – adapting their ministries to meet the needs of the times. They are committed to bringing their spirit, vision and presence to the Valley for generations to come.
The Ursulines’ ministries include the founding of and continuing educational endeavors at Ursuline High School and the Ursuline Preschool and Kindergarten, Canfield. Some sisters teach at other schools and in higher education. An immeasurable number of students have benefited from their care.
In 1991 the Ursulines of Youngstown founded Beatitude House, with locations in Youngstown, Warren, and Ashtabula. This program has helped hundreds of homeless women and their children break the cycle of poverty by providing transitional housing, guidance in parenting and other assistance. The Potter’s Wheel, Youngstown, helps disadvantaged women succeed through educational and employment assistance.
The community co-sponsors the Dorothy Day House on Youngstown’s north side. Mondays through Thursdays, 80 to 100 free meals are served each day to those who might otherwise go hungry.
In 1993 the Ursulines began responding to the needs of children and adults infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. They continue to do so in three ways. The Ursuline Sisters’ AIDS Ministry offers a Comprehensive Care Center, a clinic in the Renaissance Center, Youngstown, which treated 250 patients in 2011 and offered HIV testing to 190 persons. No HIV-positive babies have been born to infected mothers in the Center’s care; The Guardian Angel Café & Angela’s Place served over 1,200 meals last year and distributed more than 2,000 bags of groceries, household supplies and personal items; Casa Madre, a house on the city’s south side, provides tutoring and mentoring for children suffering with the virus or results of it in their families. Most of the adults and children we serve are at or below poverty level.
Thousands benefit from ministries offered at the Ursuline educational facility, The Ursuline Center, with such opportunities as: Adult Enrichment Classes; a Labyrinth open to all; Prison Ministry; Pastoral and Bereavement Counseling; Prayer Shawl Ministry, which brings the comfort and security of God’s love to the ill; Spiritual Direction and Retreats; and The Ursuline Center Book Club. Also offered at the site are Walsh University Accelerated Program and Pymatuning Rehab Speech and Hearing Services.
The Ursulines of Youngstown also minister in social work and as chaplains in area healthcare, rehabilitation and nursing home facilities, and in area parishes.

History
In 1874 immigrant children in Youngstown, Ohio, needed teachers. So, on September 18 of that year, six Ursuline sisters from Cleveland, led by Sister Teresa Foley, arrived in Youngstown to begin teaching at St. Columba School. Another sister came from Toledo. The Ursulines soon became a welcomed presence in this area of northeastern Ohio. Before long, the sisters had launched an academy that eventually evolved into the present day Ursuline High School in Youngstown.
In less than nine short years, Ursuline sisters were teaching at several local parish schools; they quickly extended their educational plans to other sites in and around Youngstown, including Campbell, Struthers, Wellsville, Leetonia, Canton, and Girard.
When the Diocese of Youngstown was established in 1943, Ursulines helped set up many of the new departments in the diocesan offices. By the 1950s the community had established programs of religious education for children with hearing impairments and developmentally disabled children. The sisters also found themselves working at Father Kane’s Camp in the summer and offering special educational programs in the inner city on Saturdays.
The sisters served not only in Catholic schools but also in other areas of special need. In the early 1960s the Second Vatican Council called upon all women religious to examine their roots and to renew their lives. The Ursulines of Youngstown took this mandate seriously and, like their founder, Saint Angela Merici, began clarifying the essentials of their lives together and discarding outmoded customs. With a renewed sense of service to the Church and the world, the Ursulines widened their service to include a variety of professions.
Country where this congregation is present
USA

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