Unarmed hope
20/10/2025
From the Letter of Sr Susan Flood osu - Prioress General
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St Ursula and her Companions, from the Reliquary of St Ursula, Hans Memling, 1489. |
Each year as we celebrate the feast of St Ursula and her Companions, we are invited to reflect on the commitment, fidelity and courage of this group of women under whose patronage, St Angela placed her own company of followers.
We understand that, for Angela, the concept of martyrdom was important. Ursula and her companions gave their lives because of the strength of their faith commitment. They faced the forces of evil, and ultimately, martyrdom, out of a desire to live their faith authentically.
Recently in Rome, as part of the events of the Jubilee Year, there was an ecumenical celebration - The Commemoration of the New Martyrs and Witnesses of the Faith. In his homily for this event, Pope Leo XIV said ‘Theirs is an unarmed hope. They have witnessed to their faith without ever using the weapons of force and violence, but by embracing the weak and gentle strength of the Gospel.’
Like other martyrs before and since, Ursula and her companions chose not to respond to evil with more evil, or to hatred with more hatred. In our world today, faced as we are with increasing incidents of hostility, violence, war, oppression and injustice, we can learn from Ursula and her Companions what it means to face hatred with kindness, to confront evil with goodness. From them we can draw strength to use only the weapons of respect, compassion and courage as we make efforts to nurture communities where justice, peace and hope are paramount.