Welcome . . . come in!

 

Casa Ursulina is a gathering place for over 170 women of a low-income area of Chillán. Above, Sister Mimi Ballard stands at the front gate.

Casa Ursulina began with a dream — a deep desire in the hearts and minds of Ursuline Sister Mary Elizabeth Ballard and seven Chilean women who worked to build a place where women could come together to work, to learn, and to find community and mutual support.

These are women who live in the Población Vicente Pérez Rosales in the city of Chillán in central Chile. It's a sprawling place that to American eyes might look like a vast government housing project, including some neighborhoods of extreme deprivation. For some 17,000 persons who live here, poverty and struggle are a daily fact of life. Many are unemployed or underemployed. The minimum wage in Chile is about $200 . . . per month.

A two week felting class at Casa Ursulina gave Ofelia (above) and many other women the opportunity to learn new skills and enjoy making hats and other original productions. For exciting details, click here.

In the mid-90s, while serving as a pastoral minister in Chillán, Sister Mary Elizabeth — "Mimi" to her family and friends — began to teach women to make crocheted pieces and other kinds of needlework which she had
learned growing up. The eager women learned fast and began to teach one another. In fairs in and around Chillán, they found a market for their
beautiful creations. For many of them, this was the first time they had been able to earn anything to help support their families. They were encouraged by their success and enriched by the spirit of community that was growing among them.

The first workshop was a crowded room in the home of Carola Pulgar, who from the beginning had worked with Sister Mimi. The women dreamed of a house, a center — a place with more space for more activities for more women. By 1997, with support from Sister Mimi's home parish — St. Joseph, Bardstown — and a campaign led by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, the Ursuline congregation was able to purchase half of a duplex house in the población. Sister Mimi and the core group transformed this limited but promising space into the Dianna Ortiz Ursuline Center for Women — Casa Ursulina.

In the past 11 years, Casa Ursulina and its ministries have never stopped growing. Physical expansion has included the purchase of the second half of the duplex (left side in photo above) and the replacement of attached wooden shacks with sturdy additions to the house.

The members of the Art and Reflection class display their second-semester project: handcrafted Christmas cards that will be sent to more than 100 generous friends of Casa Ursulina in the United States. The proud artists and the class monitors are (from left) Caryn Olsen, volunteer and monitor, Cata Candia, Ana Teresa Campos, Danys Etcheverry, Rosita González, Sister Ruth Gehres, monitor, and Jenifer Díaz. Volunteer Kristy Calaway was also a monitor with this class during the first semester.

From the original eight, the number of women coming to the center has increased to about 200. About 25
of these are volunteers who give their time, energy, and talents in teaching, providing daycare for children of women in classes, extending hospitality, and other tasks that keep the work of Casa Ursulina going.

Freeing and nurturing women and children, the primary focus of the ministries of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, is at the center of the ministry of Casa Ursulina. Now we invite you to come in, to
get to know the women of Casa Ursulina, and to be amazed at the many ways in which God's love is shared among them.

You will also learn more about Chile and Chillán, and about the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, who also serve God's people in Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, Minnesota, Louisiana, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and beginning this year, in Jamaica.

We welcome you to Casa Ursulina. Come visit us often!