A young French woman named Anne de Xainctonge founded the Congregation of St. Ursula under the special protection of Mary, Virgin and Mother who inspired her to be a woman of courage and conviction in her mission.
Three Swiss Sisters from the House of Brig – Sr. Nicholas, Sr. Zita and Sr. Xaveria touched the Indian soil and began their mission in Rahata, a remote village in the Ahmednagar District in the State of Maharashtra.
The Society of St. Ursula traces its origins to the dream of a young French woman named Anne de Xainctonge who was born in 1567 in Dijon, France. Her father Jean was a French Parliamentarian. Despite the fact that she was not the son he had hoped for, he gave her the education that boys of aristocratic families of that time would normally receive. Thus with such an education and her home being located next to the Jesuit school, Anne’s young heart was inclined towards God and His Kingdom. Seeing what the Jesuits were doing for the boys in the field of education, Anne wanted to do something similar for the girls. She became deeply aware of the lack of educational opportunities for the girls of her time and was inspired to open schools.
On 29th November 1596, Mother Anne left her native town, Dijon, France. After facing a prolonged struggle and opposition from her parents and others, along with companions who shared the same vision, Anne founded the Congregation of St. Ursula on 16th June 1606. She placed it under the special protection of Mary, Virgin and Mother who inspired her to be a woman of courage and conviction in her mission.
Many young women joined her and committed themselves to this noble profession of educating girls and women of their time. The long years of penance, sacrifice, persecution and rejection took its toll on Venerable Anne de Xainctonge’s life. She died on 8th June 1621 at the age of 54 seeing her vision become a reality. After her death the new Congregation spread fast. In 1634 the House of Fribourg in Switzerland was founded. In 1659 a community was started in Lucern by the sisters of Fribourg and in 1661 another in Brig, both in Switzerland. Brig was soon established as an independent House. Houses were also established in Freiburg and Villengen in Germany. Tours in France was founded in 1814. Brig founded the House of Sion in 1884. Everywhere the same concern for the faith of women and girls brings together women who put their hearts, skills and resources at the service of girls and women especially the poor. The 20th century saw the opening of several communities in the mission lands of Africa and India. Thus the sisters of Brig left for South Africa in 1934, India in 1953 and India for Romania in 2000.
In 1953 three Swiss Sisters from the House of Brig – Sr. Nicholas, Sr. Zita and Sr. Xaveria touched the Indian soil and began their mission in Rahata, a remote village in the Ahmednagar District in the State of Maharashtra. Today the Society of St. Ursula has established mission stations in several States of India such as Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat (in 1991) Jharkhand and Orissa.
Our Foundress Mother Anne said: “we will not carry big torches, which will throw light far and wide; but we will carry little lamps which will throw some light on the path of women and girls”.
This is what we, the Sisters of the Society of St.Ursula, popularly known as Ursulines, are doing with our committed staff, working in selfless dedication to impart education to the children of the area. St.Ursula School began on 10th June 2003 with only 21 students in a small hostel building. Now the school has 1400 students 50 teaching and non-teaching staff. The school is recognized by the government of Gujarat but it is not grant- in- aid school. The school has classes from Junior KG to Std. X. It is growing up each year. The medium of instruction is English. It is a co-ed school.
The all round development of the pupil. It not only imparts instructions, but emphasizes corporate activities, in character building, making each pupil mentally alert, physically well-fit emotionally well balanced and intellectually alive. Last but not the least; it aims at inculcating healthy brotherly- sisterly, feeling.
Founded in the Ursuline tradition and rooted in the Catholic faith, St. Ursula School educates each child, transforming her / him through intellectual inquiry, personal growth, spiritual formation, and compassionate service, empowering her/ him to lead confidently in a global society.
St. Ursula students are smart, strong, and humane. At St. Ursula it’s not just equal opportunity – it’s EVERY opportunity! Our students are first and foremost. We understand how each child learns and succeeds.
Encouraging regular school attendance is one of the most powerful ways you can prepare your
child for success—both in school and in life. When you make school attendance a priority, you
help your child get better grades, develop healthy life habits and avoid dangerous behavior.
You can help prevent your child missing school by:
Practical Life activities are the activities of everyday life and they are involved
in all aspects of life. The child observes these activities in the environment and
gains knowledge through the real experience of how to accomplish life skills in
a purposeful way. These activities are cultural and specific to the child's time and
place. Practical life activities help give the child a sense of being and belonging,
established through participation in daily life with us. Through practical life,
the child learns about his culture and all about what it is to be human.