URSULINE ACADEMY
“In the end, the devil has a great empire here, but this does not take away from us the hope of destroying him, with God’s love.”
-Sister Marie-Madeleine Hachard
URSULINE ACADEMY
The Ursuline Academy, founded in 1727 by the Catholic Sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula, was the first free, continuously-operating school for girls in the United States. The Ursuline Academy was the first school to teach free women of color, indigenous people, and female African American slaves. It provided the first social welfare center in the Mississippi Valley, the first boarding school for girls in Louisiana, and the first school of music in New Orleans. The first female pharmacist graduated from Ursuline Academy.
The Ursuline Academy still exists in New Orleans as an all-girls Catholic private high school and elementary school. It is the oldest Catholic school in the United States.
CENTERED ON CHRIST
The Ursuline Sisters, a religious order in the Catholic church, believe they are called by God to educate girls and care for the poor and sick. True to their faith heritage, they founded Ursuline Academy based on their belief that educating women is essential to developing a civilized, spiritual, and just society.
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