Ursula and her companions were massacred by the Huns in 450, an hour’s distance near the city of Cologne. Other companions were slain in more distant places. Ursula had been raised up by God to preserve the virgins and widows of her time from seduction and outrage, and to guide them to the celestial sphere of crowned martyrs. She fulfilled her mission with wonderful strength and determination. The Archangel Raphael had been given to her as a special guide, and he revealed to her the mission that had been entrusted to her.
God’s mercy did not want so many virgins and widows, falling defenseless into the hands of barbarians due to bloody wars during that era of destruction, to become unfortunate prey to total spiritual ruin; therefore, they were meant to die first as innocent virgins rather than fall into sin and be lost eternally. Ursula was very decisive and swift in her movements; tall in stature and of a robust build; her appearance was not beautiful, but severe, and her manners were masculine. When she suffered martyrdom, she was thirty-three years old.
I saw her as a child in the house of her father Deonotus and her mother Geruma in a city in England. The house was situated on a long street; it had steps in front of the door and a iron fence with yellow knobs on the street: it was similar to the house of Benedict in Italy, which also had bronze fences and gates. Ursula had ten playmates who gathered with her every day before and after noon to run in a race divided into two squads within a walled enclosure; sometimes they would fight, seemingly clasping hands or throwing pikes or spears at a distance. Not all of these young women were Christian, but Ursula and her parents already were.
Ursula was considered the guide of her companions, and everything she did with them was at the suggestion of her Guardian Angel. Her parents viewed all this with joy. At that time Maximian ruled the island of England as chief; he was a pagan, and I do not know now if he was the husband of Otilia, Ursula’s older sister, but I know that Otilia was married, while Ursula had consecrated herself to the Lord. I saw that a powerful warrior and noble Lord came to Ursula’s father because he had heard of her exercises and wanted to witness them. The father was displeased and tried every way to avoid the meeting. I saw that this man, whom Ursula’s father did not dare oppose, came forward to watch the young women’s skills, and as he was filled with admiration for Ursula’s skill and presence, he desired her as his wife. Her companions were to be wives to his men-at-arms and officers, and were to live across the seas in lands still largely unsettled. I thought of Bonaparte (Napoleon), who similarly gave young women as wives to his officers. I saw the great distress of the father and the horror of the daughter when they learned of the noble warrior’s irresistible proposal. Ursula went at night to the place where she practiced her exercises, and there she cried out to the Lord in fervent prayer. The Archangel Raphael appeared to her and consoled her, saying that she should demand for each of those virgins as many companions, and ask for a period of three years to train aboard certain ships in all kinds of agility and combat maneuvers. Furthermore, she was to trust in the Lord, who would help her keep her vow of virginity intact. He also told her that during those three years she must convert all her companions to the Christian faith, promising her God’s protection on His behalf. I saw that Ursula told all these things to her father, who communicated them to the suitor, and he consented to the proposal. Ursula and her ten companions then obtained ten other young women as associates, and the former were to be the guides of the newly added ones. The father had five small ships outfitted for them, and aboard each ship were twenty children with a few sailors who instructed them in handling and training on deck. They practiced all kinds of exercises aboard their ships, first in the river, then along the seashore, and finally at sea. They steered the ships, chased each other, separated, moved from one ship to another, and performed other similar exercises. I saw that many people came to watch the spectacle of such skills; the father and the suitor watched from the shore, and the suitor especially felt proud, thinking that in time he would have as his wife a woman so resolute and so worthy by her courage of a warrior like himself. Afterwards, I saw that those young women continued their exercises alone, without any men to help them. Only Bertrand, the confessor, remained with two other ecclesiastics. During this time Ursula had already converted all her companions, who were baptized by the priests; I saw that their trust in God and their steadfastness had increased, expecting the Lord to fulfill the promises He had made. There were even twelve-year-old girls aboard the ships who had been baptized. At other times I saw them go ashore and continue their seamanship exercises. They did all this interweaving supplications, prayers, and hymns, with courage and complete freedom. Ursula’s gravity and courage were astonishing. The young women wore garments that reached down to their knees. They wore sandals; their chests were protected, and they were covered in fitted yet very slender dresses. Some had their hair loose and braided on their heads; others wore scarves on their heads that fell over their shoulders. In their mock combat games, they used light, blunted spears.
I saw that as the three-year period drew to a close, those young women were of one heart and one soul. When they were finally about to set off on their journey to the lands where they were to become the wives of the warriors, and had said farewell to their parents, Ursula was in prayer. Then a luminous figure stood before her, telling her that she must trust fully in God; that the Lord had decreed that they should all die as martyrs, as pure virgins and His brides; that she was to spread the faith of Christ wherever the Lord guided her, and that through her many other virgins would be spared from being dishonored by the pagans and would reach heaven as martyrs. The angel told her that she, along with some of the companions, was to reach Rome. She shared all these things with the other ten virgins who co-commanded the rest with her, and they were greatly comforted. But I also saw that many other virgins seemed discouraged and complained against Ursula, asking how they could be brides of Jesus Christ when they were to be given as earthly wives. She went through all the ships and spoke to them about the sacrifice of Abraham and his son Isaac, and how God intervened wonderfully in that sacrifice: God would also intervene so that they could offer a pure and perfect victim. She told them that those who did not feel courageous should leave the ships; but they all felt strengthened and remained faithful. When they set sail from the coasts of England, believing they were heading to the lands of their future husbands, a storm separated the young women’s ships from those accompanying them and drove them toward the coasts of Holland. It was impossible to use oars or sails, and as they approached the coast, the sea rose in very dangerous waves. When they reached land for the first time, they found themselves surrounded by a crude and savage people who seized them. Ursula stepped forward courageously, and after she spoke to them forcefully, they were able to return to the ships. Leaving the sea behind, as they began to navigate up the Rhine River, they reached a city where they suffered distress and insults. Ursula spoke in the name of all and answered for them all. When some of the bolder ones tried to lay hands on them, the women bravely prepared to defend themselves and received protection from heaven. I saw that their oppressors were paralyzed and did no harm to them. Throughout the rest of the journey, many other virgins and widows with their children joined them. Before reaching Cologne, they were frequently stopped and questioned by groups of scouts from fierce tribes living along those shores: with threats, they asked them where they were going and what they wanted. It was always Ursula who answered for everyone, and she then urged her companions to row and press on with renewed fervor. In this way, unharmed and unoffended, they arrived in Cologne. Here there was a small Christian community with a church, where they stayed for some time, and the widows and young women who had joined them remained there permanently. Ursula exhorted them all to suffer martyrdom as Christian virgins and matrons rather than tolerate the violence of the pagan barbarians. Those who stayed scattered throughout the country and remained faithful to Ursula’s sentiments and exhortations. She sailed with five ships toward Basel, where many of her companions stayed with the vessels, while she, with forty people—including several priests and guides—set off for Rome. They traveled as pilgrims in procession, crossing deserted places and rugged mountains. They prayed and sang psalms, and wherever they camped, Ursula spoke to them of the chaste espousals with Jesus and the pure death of Christian virgins. Everywhere, people joined them for a time and then parted ways. In Rome, they visited the places of martyrdom and the tombs of the martyrs. On account of their rather short dresses and somewhat free manners to which they had grown accustomed during their years of exercises, they were cautioned, and from then on they covered themselves with longer dresses and cloaks. Pope Leo the Great wished to see Ursula: he examined her, questioning her about various matters. She entrusted to him the secret of her mission and revealed her visions, listening with great humility and obedience to the Pope’s exhortations. The Pontiff gave her, along with his blessing, many relics of saints. On the return journey, Bishop Cyriacus, an Egyptian priest named Peter, and a priest from the native city of Saint Augustine—grandson of the man who donated to the saint the lands where he founded monasteries and endowed them with income—joined Ursula. These ecclesiastics accompanied Ursula and her virgins mainly because of the precious relics they carried. Ursula brought to Cologne a bone fragment of Saint Peter, which is still recognized as such, though its origin is unknown. She also brought a relic of Saint Paul, hair from Saint John the Evangelist, and a fragment of the garment that covered him when he was cast into the cauldron of boiling oil. When they arrived in Basel, so many people had joined them that they sailed in eleven ships toward Cologne.
The Huns had by then taken control of the city of Cologne, and everything was in utmost confusion and disorder.
While they were still far from Cologne, the Archangel Raphael appeared again to Ursula and announced her impending crown of martyrdom, instructing her in all she was to do; he told her, among other things, to hold out until all her companions were baptized and properly prepared. Ursula communicated this vision to her most resolute and faithful companions, and they all turned to the Lord for aid. When they were just a short distance from Cologne, they were met with wild shouts by troops of Huns who launched their arrows at the ships. They rowed rapidly past the city and would not have landed had they not left many of their companions there earlier. An hour’s distance from Cologne, they disembarked and gathered on a small plain among bushes, forming a sort of camp. I saw that many of those who had stayed behind, along with other women, joined them there. Ursula and the priests instructed them in groups, preparing them for the struggle for the faith. I saw the Huns approach and their leaders negotiate with Ursula. They demanded to forcibly claim some of the young women for themselves and divide them among their ranks. The heroic young women gathered together and defended themselves; many inhabitants of the city and surrounding areas, oppressed by the invaders, had also joined them. Others who had befriended the virgins who remained behind during Ursula’s first journey resolved to protect that colony of young women, and they began to fight and defend themselves with spears, sticks, and whatever weapons came to hand. This resistance had been commanded by the angel to Ursula in order to buy time and prepare all her companions for martyrdom. During the struggle, I saw Ursula run among the squads arranged in the rear, speaking and praying with great zeal, while the priests baptized those who were not yet Christians, as many pagan women and girls had joined them. When all were baptized and prepared for martyrdom, and the enemies had surrounded them on all sides, they ceased their defense and prepared for martyrdom, singing praises to the Lord. The enemies began to strike them down with clubs and pierce them with spears.
I saw an entire row of virgins fall, pierced by the darts of the Huns who had encircled them; among them was one named Edith, of whom I possess a relic. Ursula was pierced by a spear. Among the bodies covering the field of martyrdom, besides the virgins who had come from England, were many women and maidens who had joined them from various places, as well as priests who had come from Rome, other men, and some of the enemy. Many others were massacred aboard the ships themselves. Cordula had not gone to Rome with Ursula, but had stayed in Cologne, where she won many to the Christian faith. During the persecution, she had kept hidden out of fear. Later, she presented herself and joined the companions to be martyred. The Huns wanted at all costs to hold her and other companions captive, but they resisted their demands so strongly that in the end, they bound them to one another by the arm, and lined up, they were pierced with arrows. Singing joyfully, as if going to a wedding, they suffered martyrdom. Many others presented themselves to the Huns confessing their Christian faith and were massacred in various places. Not long after, the Huns departed from Cologne. The bodies of the martyrs were gathered at the site of martyrdom, brought near Cologne, and buried in an enclosure. Vast excavations were made, many underground areas were walled in, and the sacred relics, orderly distributed, were piously preserved.
The ships of these young women were very beautiful, very light, open, with galleries around them adorned with small flags; they had a mast and a raised edge. To row, the women sat on benches that also served for sleeping. I had never seen small ships so well fitted. At the time Ursula departed from England, the holy bishops Germanus and Lupus lived in France. The former visited Saint Genevieve, who had reached twelve years of age. When Germanus and Lupus went to England to combat heresies, they comforted the parents of Ursula and the other virgins who were grieving the absence of their daughters. As for the Huns, I saw them for the most part with bare legs. They wore wide doublets with long leather straps covering the lower part of their bodies and long cloaks rolled over their shoulders.
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