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The Company of St. Ursula, also commonly known as the Company of St. Angela, was founded by Angela Merici on November 25, 1535, in Brescia. It grew rapidly all over the town, and the increasing number of members had to be organised in groups, each within a parish. The Company then spread throughout the whole Diocese of Brescia, and eventually involved several other Italian Dioceses, and also some foreign ones.
In 1810, the Company was abolished by Napoleon's laws, but it was restablished in 1866 by Bishop Girolamo Verzeri and two sisters, Elisabetta and Maddalena Girelli.
The Company's special spiritual gift, or charism, is well defined in the words of Angela herself in the Prologue to the Rule. Her Daughters were "chosen to be true and virginal spouses of the Son of God". Day by day they live this luminous Call ? that bears witness to the supremacy of love ? not in the solitude of a cloister, but fully in the world. In the wide and complex place where human beings live together, they are called to serve the Kingdom of God, with personal responsibility, but always faithful and obedient to the Church, and in particular to the Bishop of the Diocese.
Although it had no specific purpose at the beginning, over the centuries Angela's Daughters have acquired solid experience in teaching Christian doctrine, educating young girls, and working within parishes.
The Daughters of St. Angela (familiarly called "Angelines", little Angelas) live in the midst of their own families, have a job, and participate in social and civic life and in all everyday activities. They look no different from anyone else, and do not distinguish themselves from others with any external sign. Their aim is to bring into the world the spirit of the Gospel, so that human selfishness may be defeated by the logic of God and thus of love, solidarity, peace, and justice. The Daughters live passionately their belonging to the Church and express their love by serving the local Church (in particular the parish), for example, through religious instruction and initiatives for youth, especially girls.
St. Angela House in Brescia is their spiritual headquarters. Here the Daughters of St. Angela gather for spiritual events and training. The House also hosts groups, associations, and religious institutions. Nearby is the Sanctuary of St. Angela, where the faithful can still venerate St. Angela's body and visit the place where she lived. The Company itself has its office there. Close to it is the "Merician" Centre Association, a group whose aim is to research, gather and preserve documents of religious and cultural value relative to the philosophy and work of St. Angela Merici. The Merician Museum is adjacent to the Sanctuary.
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