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Debra Black discusses her heroine, the Venerable Mary Ward, who is a saint for our times. 


With the new year we look to our own renewal and change. There is no better time than the present to embrace the heroes of our Catholic faith. With that in mind, I am excited to introduce you to my hero, the Venerable Mary Ward.  

Real strength and courage consists in doing what one knows to be good in all circumstances in which we are placed, and in not letting ourselves be deterred from this good by any opposition. (Mary Ward, The Heart and Mind of Mary Ward, p. 51) 

 

Mary Ward was born in 1585. Her first spoken word and her dying breath were both the name of Jesus. She was born into Protestant England in the beginning of England’s suppression of the Catholic church (which would last three centuries), and her family was instrumental in running the underground Catholic Church. If you are unfamiliar with this incredible part of our history, I encourage you to find out more!  

 

The underground Church in Protestant England  

The underground Church consisted of a network of homes, tunnels, and other safe spaces across England through which priests would be hidden and transported to provide Mass from village to village. These homes often had a hiding hole built within their wall, which is a small space just large enough for a priest to sit (with his potty bowl). The priest might live in this hole up to two weeks, and only receive food when it was safe for a family member to quickly slip it through the door (keep in mind, even their servants might be spies and report them).   

Wealthy families like Mary’s would hold a ball (formal dance) on Sunday to which everyone attended in their formal clothes. The ball would actually be the Mass; the masquerade would give reason for a large number of well-dressed Catholics to converge upon a home without suspicion. Death by public execution was the typical fate of anyone caught facilitating this or practicing their Catholicism.  

 

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Catholics risked their lives for the priests and the Eucharist  

Suffering without sin is no burden (p. 49) 

 

It was this setting, this risking of one’s life for the priest and the Eucharist, that formed Mary Ward. From the age of five until she was 10, Mary was sent to live with her super-holy grandmother who herself had been jailed 14 times for practicing Catholicism! For wealthy families like the Wards, a price would be paid for the person’s head, and the person would be set free. Mary herself suffered being on death row a few times as an adult.  

Thanks to her gifted grandmother, by age 10 Mary was fluent in Latin, the Bible, and the Church fathers. And by having Jesuit priests hiding in her home, she was spiritually advanced. Although her parents wanted her to marry, she knew from an early age she was called to the religious life as a bride of Jesus. Long story short, after several years and twists on her journey, Jesus informed her she was to take the same route as the Jesuits, meaning she should start a similar order for women. At that time, religious women were only to be cloistered and would only be seen publicly if begging for alms. Otherwise, women were to be seen and not heard; not speak unless spoken to. So Mary’s calling went against everything in European culture of the time and she suffered tremendously for it but never gave in.  

There was never any question of her extreme holiness even though her religious community itself was persecuted and eventually suppressed. A true mystic, her union with Jesus manifested into her unflinching following of God’s will. She had perfect discernment and wisdom and was so enveloped in the Holy Spirit that as she entered into a room of angry shouting men, they immediately calmed down in her presence. Can you imagine how life would change carrying that grace into your family’s dinner table?  

Her institutes were kept alive and formalized in the late 1800s as the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). This is the order that formed Mother Teresa until Jesus called Mother to a whole new way of living for Him. Mother Teresa loved Mary Ward.  

 

Always receive the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar with such devotion, as if it were to be your Viaticum, and offer it with this intention. (p. 57) 

 

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How often I still find myself distracted in Mass thinking about peoples, places, things, the grocery list, errands to run, and more. All I need do is call to mind those priests in their hiding holes and that for centuries Catholics literally risked their life just to attend a single Catholic Mass. Puts everything into perspective.  

Care not for what concerns your own person, but stand up zealously for whatever touches God and His honor. (p. 59) 

 

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Copyright 2025 Debra Black
Images: http://www.marywarddocumentary.com/mwpictures.htm, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; http://www.marywarddocumentary.com/mwpictures.htm, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons