Ursulines (Company of St. Ursula)

Timeline

1. 1535Brescia · BresciaAngela Merici gathered 28 women to form the Company of St. Ursula under the patronage of St. Ursula; members kept their secular status, wore no religious habit, and took no lifelong vows, focusing on Christian education for girls and home visits.
2. 1536–1540Brescia · BresciaIn 1536–1537 Angela wrote the Rule; in 1540 Pope Paul III approved the Ursulines by papal bull, granting them formal status as a religious congregation and providing papal legitimacy for subsequent transformation into a religious order and expansion.
3. 1540–1600Europe · EuropeAfter Angela's death in 1540, the Ursulines gradually adopted religious-order lifestyles and centralized management, establishing schools and charitable institutions in Italy, France, and elsewhere, becoming an important part of the modern Catholic network of female education.