Side A: Mother Mary of the Annunciation Beaumont (1818-1881) was an English-born, French educated Ursuline Sister, she arrived in Cleveland from Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, in 1850, accompanied by three other Ursulines and a lay teacher. Invited to Ohio by Bishop Amadeus Rappe, the Ursulines vowed to improve society through religious education. That same year, Beaumont established the city’s first Catholic school (grades 1-12), “Ursuline Academy,” and dedicated it to teaching girls “to think for themselves.” Beaumont not only taught at area parishes, she ably guided the opening and staffing of schools in Toledo (1854), Tiffin (1863), and Youngstown (1874). In 1874, the Ursulines purchased property on the Shores of Lake Erie and opened St. Mary’s School (1878). The school, re-named Villa Angela Academy in 1941, educated women for 112 years.
Side B: A visionary leader, Mary Beaumont generously provided leadership to the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, who instituted a hospital serving cholera victims in Cleveland. In 1853, Beaumont sought papal dispensation for the Ursulines to teach outside their monastery. As a result, the Ursulines initiated Catholic education in four parishes over the next five years. Beaumont opened Ursuline College (1871), Ohio’s first chartered women’s college. An inspired leader, “Mere Marie” served God and her Sisters as superior for 25 years. She died in 1881. Founder of Cleveland’s Catholic school system, Mother Mary Beaumont’s influence is evidenced by thousands of pupils taught by Cleveland Ursulines for more than 175 years. In 1990, Villa Angela Academy (1878) and St. Joseph’s High School (1950) merged to continue Beaumont’s legacy into the 21st century.
Sponsors: Villa Angela Heritage Center, Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, Ohio History Connection
