From Austria to Russia
Born Julia Ledóchowska in Austria in 1865, St Ursula entered the Ursuline novitiate in Kraków aged 21. The Ursulines are committed to educating girls and caring for the sick and the poor; Ursula devoted herself to these tasks, and amid the turmoil of the 20th century took the congregation in new directions.

Known for her piety – she would spend hours praying before the Blessed Sacrament – Ursula set up Kraków’s first residence for female university students. In 1907, by which time she was superior of the convent, she learnt Russian and went to St Petersburg to run a boarding school.