WARD, MARY. – Foundress of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (v.), born at Mulwith (England) on 23 January 1585, died at Hawart on 30 January 1645.
Raised in a deeply religious family, in 1606 she went to St-Omer in Belgium and entered the convent of the Poor Clares, from which she departed three years later to return to England and carry out her apostolate there among young women; but, unable to fulfill her desire, she returned to St-Omer with five young ladies and opened a school there for the education of the daughters of the English nobility. In 1611 she adopted the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, with the necessary modifications, hence the name Jesuitesses given to its members. In 1614 she was finally able to open a house in London. The new Institute, known as that of the English Ladies, departed from the rules then in use through its freedom from enclosure, in accordance with the purpose proper to this new institution, and through the governance of the society being concentrated in the superior general, who was to depend solely on the Holy See. In 1616 she sent a memorandum to Rome requesting pontifical approval, and the following year Paul V blessed the new Institute. Other houses were soon opened; and while the approval of M. W.’s work was being discussed in Rome, a memorandum from the English clergy against her arrived there, resulting in the refusal of approval and in W. being condemned as a heretic and disobedient. Confined in the convent of the Poor Clares at Anger, she was kept there for almost a year. Once released, she spent the rest of her life amid suffering and bitterness, borne with serene resignation and complete trust in the vindication of her work, which was approved in 1703.
The ordinary process instituted concerning her virtues is currently under examination by the S. Congregation of Rites.