Saint Ursula
Feast day: 21 October
There is very little known about St Ursula and her story may not be historical.The legend is that she was a Cornish princess, daughter of King Dionotus. She was to be married to a pagan prince, Canan Meriodoc of Armorica (Brittany), but was allowed to postpone the marriage for three years while she went on a pilgrimage. It is said that she took eleven thousand virgins with her and that they were martyred at Cologne. Some accounts say that Ursula refused to marry the Hun king who then killed her.
A basilica was built in that city where the alleged relics of Ursula and her companions were buried. Various dates are given for her death from the late third century to the seventh century. What I feel is important is that the legend of St Ursula has been an inspiration for many people. Hildegard of Bingen composed many chants in her honour. Hans Memling constructed a wooden shrine containing her relics, which is now in Bruges. Christopher Columbus named the Virgin Islands after her and Ferdinand Magellan the Cape Virgenes. Maybe these explorers felt a common bond with Ursula in that she, like them, had travelled into the unknown.
For St Angela Merici (1474-1540) - who found her vocation in providing education for young girls - Ursula was the ideal patroness for the new group. Ursula, like Angela, had made independent choices for service to God; thus the Order of St Ursula or the Ursulines came into being, and has given good education to many thousands of women.