'People in Yorkshire should know Mary Ward's name'

A sainthood petition for a nun who pioneered women's education has gained more than 10,000 signatures, despite claims she is relatively unknown in her home county.

Mary Ward was born near Ripon in 1585 and spent her life campaigning for girls to receive a similar education level to their male counterparts.

Dr Hannah Thomas, from York's Bar Convent, said Ward should be a name that "everybody knows".

"This huge movement that has changed opportunities for women around the world for the last 400 years has its roots in York and in Yorkshire," said the special collections manager.

"The more people that know about that the better - she's so well known anywhere in the world apart from in her home city."

Ward founded the Catholic sisterhood of the Congregation of Jesus, whose primary English location is at the Bar Convent.

She died in 1645 and was buried at Osbaldwick churchyard.

The convent was then established in 1686 by Frances Bedingfield, a friend of Ward, and provided one of the earliest schools for girls in the country, Thomas said.

Today there are about 200 Mary Ward schools worldwide, with the conventbacking the campaign to have Ward declared a saint by the Catholic Church.

Ward is quoted as saying in 1617: "There is no such difference between men and women that women may not do great things - and I hope in God it will be seen that women in time to come will do much."

Thomas said the lack of local awareness about Ward's achievements could be connected to Catholicism being outlawed in 17th Century England.

"The Catholic community got used to having to hide in plain sight and to not draw attention to themselves," she said.

"I think that's had a sort of longer term impact on people outside of that community knowing about Mary Ward and talking about her work."

Ward was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, which is the first step on the road to canonisation and sainthood.

The decision lies with the church, but "proving that somebody has a place in the modern church and world" is where the public can play a part, Thomas explained.

"Her legacy is still so relevant and is still something that's literally changing people's lives," she said.

"I think for us now in York, we're really proud to be able to tell her story and to share that with people."

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