“There is no such difference between men and women that women may not do great things.”
- Mary Ward

Mary Ward was born in Yorkshire, England in 1585 at a time of severe persecution of Catholics. Despite the sufferings, loss of property and even death of dear ones, many of her friends, relatives, and acquaintances remained faithful to their religion. Brought up in such an atmosphere of heroism and self-sacrifice, Mary grew up to be a woman of deep faith, steely determination and unswerving loyalty to the Church.

Already at the age of 15 she decided to be ‘wholly God’s’ but it was only when she reached the age of 21 that she was allowed to follow her dream of becoming a religious. In 1606 she crossed the English Channel and went over to St. Omer (Belgium) where she joined a Poor Clare’s Convent as a lay sister only to discover later that she was not to be a Poor Clare. She left the Convent; after a few more years of search and struggle she returned to England where she spent her time visiting lapsed Catholics and prisoners, helping and supporting priests and arranging for them to administer the sacraments. One day in 1609 God showed her clearly that she was to do something else ‘more to the glory of God’ the exact nature of which still remained unclear to her.

Attracted by her warm and charming personality and inspired by her heroic spirit and obvious love for the Lord, several young women of her circle of friends, relatives and acquaintances joined her. Together they went to the Continent where Mary opened a number of schools for children. Seeing the success and apostolic impact of her work, Church and Civil authorities invited her to open schools in their countries. Soon Mary began to think of establishing a religious order. But women religious of the time had to observe strict enclosure, a rule that limited their activities to little more than prayer and household chores.

Mary Ward was directed by God through a series of mystical experiences to find an Order modelled on the pattern of the Society of Jesus. She wanted her Congregation to be directly under the Pope and be free from enclosure, the obligation of the choir and the wearing of religious habit. These were novel ideas and not acceptable to the church and Mary’s initiatives brought in a storm of protests from all sides because her attempt to begin an apostolic Order for women went against the norms and practices of the time. But Mary, realizing the great opportunities open to women religious in defending and protecting Faith, refused to bow down to the pressures. As a result she had to suffer much and was branded as a heretic and imprisoned and her Congregation suppressed. Only a faithful band remained loyal to her vision. Despite all attempts to discredit her and destroy her work, she remained firm, utterly convinced of her mission. Though later she was exonerated from all charges of heresy and given permission to live with her companions in Rome, the ban forbidding her foundation was not revoked.

Despite the many hurdles in the way of obtaining the approbation of her Institute, Mary placed her trust in the Lord as she says, “What is not done in one year can be done in another. We must wait for God Almighty’s leisure, for we must follow, not go before Him.”

The years of waiting and uncertainty took its toll on Mary’s health. In 1640 she returned to England where a civil war was raging. She and her companions sought refuge in Heworth, a village outside York. There she spent the last months of her life and on 30th January 1645 she breathed her last, pronouncing the name of Jesus three times.

Mary Ward is buried in the cemetery of the Anglican Church, Osbaldwick and her grave stone is still kept inside the church which bears the following inscription:

“To love the poor
Persevere in the same,
Live, die and rise with them
Was all the aim of Mary Ward
Who having lived 60 years and 8 days
Died on 30th January 1645.”

Rooted in the Triune God:

From the days of her childhood, Mary Ward seemed to have been rooted in God; for her God was always, 'the beginning, middle and end of all our good'. In other words Mary Ward was at home in the Blessed Trinity; her whole life tended to the Father whose glory was once revealed to her as the ultimate end of her life and work. Her desire to follow Jesus is revealed in her own words 'To proceed as Christ did was the portion of grace I only desired for my part and all the happiness I wished for in this life’. She attributed to the Spirit of God that ‘zeal for souls out of love for the Divine glory’ which burnt in her heart and in those of her companions.

A member, rooted in God, seeks God in all things through humble prayer and personal effort. Her desire is to be responsive to the leading of the Spirit in all things. Her members are expected to be ‘contemplatives in action’ which means being recollected and absorbed in God in the midst of the crowd. This requires of them to be women of prayer- rooted in the Trinity. Caught up in the tangled activity of daily life and treasuring all the details of the time and place, they find, taste, smell and touch a loving God who wonderfully labours in the world.

Eucharist Centred:

Mary Ward drew inspiration and strength from the Blessed Sacrament and she wanted that her companions should at all times have recourse to this open access to God. The same Christ who called us for mission unites us at the table of the Eucharist. It is in community and personal adoration that the members experience unity since the chief bond to cement the union of members among themselves and with their head, is the love of God, Our Lord. “Let us endeavour to make frequent visits to adore and speak with Him as an expression of our faith… such visits will help us to live ever more deeply in Christ.”

The Glory of God: Service of our neighbour:

The fundamental vision with which Mary Ward set forth to begin her Institute was the ‘Gloria Vision’. Even before the Congregation took concrete form it was given its distinctive mark. Our work is to be for the glory of God. In this call from God we can hear the echo of Mary’s apostolic vision. The notion of glory refers to that power, the majesty, honour and radiance which belong to God alone. It is the manifestation of the saving power of God. She would labour for the glory of God and the one aim of her life was to be the praise and glory of God in everything, hence she was committed to her apostolic vision of helping others. The emphasis on ‘service of neighbour', ‘helping souls’ came from a profound conviction that grew with her in her personal faith history. She was influenced by the Christ of the Spiritual Exercises- Christ in action, who went from place to place to proclaim the saving power of God.

Total Availability :

“Our Institute should be marked by the asceticism of ‘availability’. The basic motivation behind this availability is love and a pure intention of serving God, sincere ‘zeal for souls’ … we are here for others, the heart of our mission is service of mankind”. This was the message of the General Superior to the whole Institute in 1980. Mary’s response was an unconditional availability of faith and hope, a total surrender of her person to the will of God- Mary Ward was totally available in her time.

- Available to the Church;
- Available for young girls ;
- Available to her companions;
- Available with her pain and sickness;
- Available to the Catholics, to the women, to the poor, to the sick…

In the words of Pope John Paul II, “Like your Foundress, Mary Ward, you are called to exemplify that courage and generosity which are components of true fidelity- the courage to face the sacrifices necessary to uphold her religious charism, which has become your own… and the generosity to pursue this perseveringly under the Banner of the Cross of Christ, together with His Mother Mary.”