From the Ashes

Minali Venkatesh ’15

Although we often consider Ursuline Academy at 12 Arlington Street to be the beginning of our roots in the Boston area, the history of the Ursuline Sisters in Boston dates back over 200 years.

In 1819, four young Ursuline Sisters from the Ursuline Monastery in TroisRivières, Québec, were invited by Father Thayer to establish an apostolate in Boston. With the assistance of Bishop Cheverus, the first Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, the Ursuline convent was opened in the rectory of the Boston cathedral. Within a year, three additional nuns had joined the Ursulines, and the Sisters opened a school with a strong enrollment that also allowed them to provide free education to the daughters of impoverished Irish families. The Academy quickly drew the attention of more than just local Catholic families; many wealthy Protestant families in Boston were eager to send their daughters to be educated by the Ursulines. In 1826, the Sisters purchased a plot of land in what was then Charlestown (now East Somerville) to build their new convent and school. The Ursuline Convent and school on Mount Benedict opened in 1827, led by Mother St. George and Bishop Fenwick, Bishop Cheverus’ successor. By 1834, anti-Catholic sentiments had strengthened in Boston, and the Ursuline Convent burned down during the riots that ensued. After the tragedy, the Sisters tried to revive their school. However, still fearing for their safety and that of their students, the Ursulines of Boston reluctantly returned to Québec in 1835. More than a century later, the Archdiocese of Boston still felt that they needed more strong Catholic schools in the Boston area, and formally invited the Sisters to return in 1946, to 12 Arlington Street.

Milestones

1820

Nuns from the Ursuline convent in Trois Rivières, Québec establish a convent in the rectory of the Boston cathedral and a school for girls opens.

1826

The Ursulines, led by Mother St. George, and Bishop Benedict Fenwick purchase land on Ploughed Hill, later called Convent Hill, in a section of Charlestown that is now Somerville. Mount Benedict Convent and School, Charlestown in the 1800s

1827

The Ursulines move into a newly built brick convent and boarding school for girls – Mount Benedict. Classes begin in 1828.

1834

The first Ursuline convent in Charlestown is destroyed by fire August 11, 1834. The Ursuline Sisters leave the area.