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Who was Mary Ward?
Who was Mary Ward?
Mary Ward is the founder of the Loretto Sisters and the inspiration for the Loretto College School A-Team initiative called 'Yes, Girls Do ..' Like Mary Ward, students at Loretto College believe that "Women in time will come to do much."
Venerable Mary Ward, a cloistered nun, recognized her potential and longed for more than what the cloistered life could offer—an opportunity to put her faith into action while actively contributing to the Roman Catholic Church. This passion for service and her desire to break barriers led her to realize that the same societal restrictions holding her back as a nun were also preventing women from accessing education.
In England during the early 1600s, Mary Ward sought to challenge these limitations by founding the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM) with the hope of educating young women. However, establishing this foundation was no easy task and sparked significant controversy. She attempted multiple times to gain papal approval—travelling on foot from Flanders to Rome—yet was never given a definitive answer. Despite this, the IBVM continued to take shape.
Although she faced deep criticism and even imprisonment, Mary Ward remained steadfast in faith, trusting that what God had promised would be accomplished in time. After her death, Mary Ward's companions kept her vision alive, successfully establishing schools across Europe and receiving official papal approval in 1877. Her legacy continued to grow as Teresa Ball, a Catholic religious sister, expanded the Institute to Ireland. This expansion led to the IBVM, now known as the Loretto Sisters. The Institute eventually expanded as far as Toronto, where Archbishop Michael Power invited five Loretto Sisters—Teresa Dease, Gertrude Fleming, Ignatia Hutchinson, Valentina Hutchinson, and Bonaventure Phelan—to establish Catholic schools in the city, furthering Ward’s vision for women’s education. In 2009, with over 200 Mary Ward schools worldwide, the Church declared Mary Ward a "women of heroic virtue" and proclaimed her "Venerable", opening the cause for her sainthood. Let us pray for this cause.
An in-depth video on the life of Mary Ward:
Resources:
- https://www.congregatiojesu.org/mary-ward/story/
- https://www.congregatiojesu.org/mary-ward/painted-life/
- https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienM/Mary_Maria_Ward.html
- https://www.marywarddocumentary.com/the-bull-of-suppression/
- https://www.ibvm.ca/mary-ward
- https://www.maryward.org/mary-ward/
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