OBITUARY | Sister Ursula Cazalé, DC
A funeral Mass for Sister Ursula Cazalé, DC, was celebrated Aug. 9 at The Sarah Community’s Marian Chapel in Bridgeton. Sister Ursula died Aug. 5 at The Sarah Community. She was 93 years old and a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul for 72 years.
Born June 18, 1926, in New Orleans, Sister Ursula (baptized Ursula Emily) was one of six girls, four of whom pursued life as women religious, and one boy born to Philip Peter and Henrietta Marguerite (Lassus) Cazalé. Sister Ursula was a 1943 graduate of St. Mary’s Dominican High School in New Orleans. In 1950, she earned a nursing diploma from St. Joseph School of Nursing in Chicago. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing education from DePaul University in Chicago in 1951 and a master’s degree in nursing service administration from St. John’s University in Jamaica, N.Y., in 1962.
Sister Ursula entered the Daughters of Charity in St. Louis from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in New Orleans in January 1947. Following initial formation, Sister Ursula served as nursing supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago (1947-51). For three months (1951-52), Sister Ursula served as nursing supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital in Alton, Ill.; then, as nursing supervisor and director of nursing at Providence Hospital, Mobile, Ala. (1952-61).
Sister Ursula was director of nursing at Providence Hospital in Waco, Texas (1962-66), and St. Margaret’s Hospital in Montgomery, Ala. (1966-67). She was missioned to Charity Hospital in Lafayette, La., where she served as supervisor of nursing (1967-69), then went to New Orleans to serve as staff nurse at DePaul Hospital (1969-73) and Hotel Dieu Hospital (1973-82).
Sister Ursula served as infirmary staff nurse at Marillac Provincial House in St. Louis (1982-87); volunteer in guest relations at St. Paul Medical Center (1987-2001) and St. Paul University Hospital (2001-04) in Dallas, Texas. In 2004, Sister Ursula was missioned to Waco, Texas, where she served as a volunteer for eight years (2004-12). In 2012, Sister Ursula entered into a ministry of prayer at The Sarah Community in Bridgeton.
Burial was in Marillac Cemetery in Normandy.