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Published Date: November 30, 2009

Mary Ward, who founded the IBVM sisters and promoted women’s rights in the 17th century, is to be declared ‘Venerable’ by Pope Benedict.

Ward was also dragged before the Inquisition for trying to promote women’s rights 300 years before the Suffragettes, the Daily Mail reports.

Mary Ward was born into a devout Catholic family in Ripon, Yorkshire, in 1585 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I when Catholics were being persecuted.

She became a nun at 15, and a decade later founded her own order, the Institute of Mary. She went on to open convents across Europe.

But from an early age she was a vocal proponent of women’s rights, particularly a right to education, which led to conflict with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

While in Germany in 1631 she was dragged before the Inquisition, the feared Church body charged with rooting out heretics.

Charged with heresy, schism and rebellion, she was jailed for three months and when freed was forced to comply with the Pope’s order to shut down her order of nuns.

She died of natural causes in 1645 in York.

“It is absolutely wonderful,” said Sister Gemma Simmonds, a lecturer in theology at Heythrop College, the University of London and a member of Mary Ward’s order of nuns, which was re-instated 100 years after her death under a new name, the Congregation of Jesus.

“Mary Ward was a very important pioneer in the history of the role of women in the Church.

“I want justice for her. She was severely persecuted by the Church that she tried to serve so faithfully,” Sr Simmonds said.

FULL STORY @

ritish nun who was dragged before the Inquisition to be placed on the road to sainthood (Daily Mail)

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Mary Ward (Wikipedia)

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