Mary Ward (1585 - 1645)

Teresa Ball (1794-1861)

Margaret Mary Jolivet (!847-1881)

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Mary Ward (1585-1645)

    

Mary Ward was born in Yorkshire, England on 23 January 1585.  Elizabeth I was Queen at the time and any one who practiced the Catholic religion was punished by Law.  As Mary grew to be a very beautiful woman she had many admirers.  However she made up her mind  to give her life to God as  nun.

As there were no convents in England, because of the persecutions, Mary went to Belgium where she entered the convent of the Poor Clare's in St Omer.

She soon realised that this was not her vocation, nor indeed another convent which she even began herself.  The next part of her life was spent in London helping the poor and doing good generally.

One day while doing her hair in front of a mirror, Mary got what she believed to be a clear message from God.  This was the first in a series of such insights from God which led her to understand that she was to start a religious congregation, which was very different to any that existed before.

The three things Mary wanted for her congregation were, firstly to be able to move freely among the people and to dress like the people.  In those days nuns were strictly enclosed and were not free to move around.  She wanted her sisters to govern themselves and not be subject to the local Bishop, and lastly, she also wanted to follow the rule of St Ignatius who founded the Society of Jesus or Jesuits.  So as to be able to carry out her vision, Mary knew she needed the permission of the Church.

Despite many arduous journeys to and from Rome, and even imprisonment by Church authorities no permission was granted during her life time.  At the time of her death on 30th January 1645 it seemed as though Mary Ward had failed as the vision which she had of starting a new kind of religious congregation had come to nothing.  However, her followers kept her vision alive, and as can be seen, in time the work she started was carried to all continents. 

In 1703 approval of the Church was given by Pope Clement XV to Mary Ward's Congregation, which became known as The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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Mother Teresa Ball (1794-1861)

     One hundred and forty nine years after the death of Mary Ward, Frances Ball was born in Dublin, Ireland.  She was born into a wealthy family belonging to the upper class.  At the time Dublin was described as a splendid city in a poor country.

As in England in Mary Ward's time, the practice of the Catholic religion was against the law.  It was difficult to get a Catholic education in Ireland.  Frances was sent to School to St Mary's Convent Micklegate Bar, York, where her elder sister was educated.  This was a school founded in 1686 by Mary Ward's religious sisters.

After returning to Ireland following the death of her father, Frances Ball felt the call to become a nun.  On the advice of Dr Murray, Archbishop of Dublin, Frances returned to the Bar Convent to be trained in religious  life with a view to starting a convent in Dublin.  When her training was complete, Frances returned to Dublin as Mother Teresa.  Together with two companions she took over a hous ein Rathfarnham provided by Archbishop Murray as their first convent .  She called the house Loret, and soon attracted many followers.  Soon requests came from Bishops in many parts of the world  for schools to be opened in their territories.

Mother Teresa died in 1861 but her work was to continue with Loreto Missionaries responding to needs in many different countries.

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Margaret Mary Jolivet  (1847-188)

      Margaret Mary Jolivet.jpg (29495 bytes) Celine Jolivet was born in Brittany, France.  At an early age she went to Loreto Convent Navan, Ireland.  She later became a Loreto Sister.  Her brother Charles had become a priest in the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Congregation, and had been sent to Natal in South Africa and was made Bishop of a large territory..  As there was no Catholic School in the Transvaal at that time, Bishop Jolivet invited his sister to Pretoria to open a school.  This became a reality on June 8 1878 when Mother Margaret Mary and her companions opened the first Catholic School in the Transvaal at Loreto Convent Skinner Street.  Subsequently the following schools were opened: Lydenburg 1893, Hillcrest 1924, Strand 1924, Sea Point 1927, Glen Cowie 1927, and Queenswood in 1975.
Currently three of these school (Skinner Street, Queenswood and Strand) still exist under the leadership of committed laity while the sisters now give their attention to many other diverse ministry needs.  The sisters currently live  and work in three areas of South Africa: Cape Town, Pretoria and Witbank.

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