Teresa Ellen Dease
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Mother Teresa Ellen Dease | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | Ellen Dease 4 May 1820 |
| Died | 1 July 1889 (aged 69) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Order | Loreto Sisters |
Teresa Ellen Dease (4 May 1820 – 1 July 1889) was a Roman Catholic nun and the foundress of the Loreto Sisters (Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Canada and in North America. She arrived in Toronto in 1847 at the invitation of Bishop Michael Power.[1]
Ellen Dease was born in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, the youngest of five children born to Oliver and Anne Nugent Dease.[2] Her father was a surgeon at Westmoreland Lock Hospital. Orphaned at a young age, she was raised by her maternal grandmother in Dublin, where she attended a school for young ladies.[3] She continued her education in Paris, where she became fluent in French and Italian, and an accomplished musician. Returning to Dublin, she took part in the social life of the city. Her oldest sister Anna entered the Sisters of Loreto and became superior of the convent at Fermoy; her sister Bridget lived with community as a lay person.[citation needed]
At the age of twenty-five, Dease entered Loretto Abbey in Rathfarnham, taking the name Teresa.[4] In January 1847 Bishop Michael Power of Toronto went on a six-month visit to Europe, seeking to recruit additional priests and to raise money for his cathedral. While in Ireland he arranged for the Sisters of Loreto to establish a mission in Toronto.[5] Dease was asked if she would take part.[citation needed]
