Abstract
Related to all but two of the Gunpowder plotters, Mary Ward left England in 1606 to try her vocation in the Spanish Netherlands as a nun. Realizing that enclosure was not for her, she returned to England to minister directly to Catholics, especially the poor. Her movement spread across Europe, with foundations at Bratislava, Cologne, Liège, London, Munich, Naples, Perugia, Rome, St-Omer, Treviso, and Vienna. But Rome, unnerved by the notion of ‘English Ladies’ following an apostolate of the streets modelled on the Jesuit rule, dissolved it by papal bull in 1631; not until 1909 that could Mary Ward again be named as founder. Before 2007, not one sentence of the French, Italian, or English lives of Mary Ward, or of her marvellous correspondence, was available as originally written. Now, however, almost all is revealed in one of the greatest additions to the canon of premodern, female-written, female-edited writings.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
