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Packing my rucksack with Mary Ward

Ideas for teaching implementation

Lesson plans and suggestions for group sessions

5 concepts for using the materials on the Mary Ward values

Ideas for adaptation in schools, youth groups and gatherings of friends of Mary Ward

More than 400 years ago, Mary Ward set out on a remarkable journey. She crossed Europe on foot, founded schools for girls and stood up for justice, freedom and the dignity of every person – at a time when women were denied these rights. Her courage and her values remain as relevant today as they were then.

 

The Congregatio Jesu has reinterpreted Mary Ward’s four core values – Freedom, Justice, Sincerity and Felicity – for young people today. The image of a rucksack serves as a powerful metaphor: what would you pack for your journey through life? 

Examples of the materials provided

Find all the material

On this page, we present five ready-to-use lesson plans designed for schools, youth groups, retreats and parish settings. Each plan explores who Mary Ward was, what her values mean today and how young people can make these values their own. The plans offer a mix of plenary discussions, small group activities, individual reflection and creative tasks.

 

The five approaches cater to different ages, settings and teaching styles: 

  1. The Values Rucksack – a hands-on introduction for younger teenagers
  2. Values Under Scrutiny – in-depth exploration for older teenagers
  3. Mary Ward Meets Social Media – a media literacy approach
  4. Values Walk – experiential learning outdoors
  5. Values Workshop – a project-based format for extended sessions
All plans draw on the materials from our Packing My Rucksack with Mary Ward collection. Feel free to adapt them to suit your group. 
To the toolbox with all the materials

Lesson Plan 1: "The Values Rucksack"

Introduction for younger teenagers (from approx. 12 years)

Duration: 90 minutes | Group size: 10–30 participants

A) Who was Mary Ward?
  • Plenary (15 min): Short introductory talk or video (available on our YouTube channel) about Mary Ward (1585–1645): an English Catholic woman who courageously fought for women’s education during a time of persecution and founded a religious congregation, even though the Church forbade her from doing so.
  • Materials: Show images from the “Painted Life of Mary Ward” (available on this website) and discuss them together.
B) What are the values that were particularly important to Mary Ward?
  • Group work (20 min): 4 small groups, each receive one of the four values (Freedom, Justice, Sincerity, Felicity). Each group is given the corresponding image/text materials from the website and answers: What does this value mean? Can you think of an example from your everyday life?
  • Record results on posters.
C) What do Mary Ward’s values mean to you?
  • Individual work/quiet work (15 min): Each participant receives a real small rucksack or a paper rucksack template. On cards, the young people write which values are personally important to them and why.
D) Which values would you pack for your journey through life?
  • Plenary/discussion (20 min): The young people present their “packed rucksacks”. Guiding questions: Are there values that almost everyone chose? Why? Is anything missing?
E) How can Mary Ward’s values help whenthings get difficult? (for older participants)
  • Group work (20 min): Collaborative creation of a large “class rucksack” as a wall display featuring the collected values.
Additional Section: “Values messengers”

  • The young people consider how they can concretely live out a chosen value in the coming week (e.g. “I am sincere by…”).

Lesson Plan 2: "Values Under Scrutiny"

For older teenagers (from approx. 15 years)

Duration: 2 x 90 minutes | Group size: 15–30 participants

A) Who was Mary Ward?
  • Flipped Classroom: Watch selected video material from the YouTube channel as homework beforehand. In class, conduct a short quiz/review to check understanding.
B) What are the values that were particularly important to Mary Ward?
  • Plenary (20 min): Introduce the four values, supplemented by the “5 C’s of Mary Ward Education”: Character, Competence, Conscience, Commitment, Compassion.
  • Consult the Mary Ward Schools’ Compass for more information
C) What do Mary Ward’s values mean to you?
  • Quiet work/journaling (20 min): Answer reflection questions in writing: When did I last experience injustice? When was I truly sincere – and when was I not? What makes me truly happy?
D) Which values would you pack for your journey through life?
  • Small group discussion (25 min): Groups of 4–5 people discuss and create a ranking of their most important values with justification.
E) How can Mary Ward’s values help when things get difficult?
  • Plenary/fishbowl discussion (25 min): Discuss case studies:
    • A friend is being bullied – which value helps you to act in the right way?
    • You are under pressure to do something you don’t want to do – what does the value of “Freedom” tell you?
    • …
 
F) How can Mary Ward’s values help us to help others who have little or nothing?
Additional Section: “Values in Conflict”

Discussion: Can values contradict one another? For example, Freedom and Justice – what if my freedom restricts others?

Lesson Plan 3: "Mary Ward Meets Social Media"

Media Literacy Approach (from approx. 13 years)

Duration: 90 – 120 minutes | Group size: 10–25 participants

A) Who was Mary Ward?
  • Introductory talk (10 min): Present Mary Ward as a “17th-century influencer” – a woman who spread her message across Europe despite opposition.
  • Cou can find information and additional material on this website.
B) What are the values that were particularly important to Mary Ward?
  • Plenary (10 min): Briefly introduce the four values using the website materials (AI-generated images and / or photographs with values-related themes).
  • Choose the material from our toolbox.
C) What do Mary Ward’s values mean to you?
  • Group work (30 min): Each group designs a social media post (e.g. Instagram story, TikTok script) about one of the four values. They use the QR code stickers and sharing materials from the website as templates.
D) Which values would you pack for your journey through life?
  • Individual work (15 min): Each person creates a personal “vision board” (digital or analogue) featuring values for their own journey through life.
E) How can Mary Ward’s values help when things get difficult? (for older participants)
  • Discussion (20 min): How do values help against cyberbullying, online peer pressure, fake news? How would Mary Ward have responded to hate speech?
Additional Section: “Sincerity in the Digital Space”
  • Reflection (15 min): Discussion: How sincere are we online? What do we show – and what do we hide?

Lesson Plan 4: "Values Walk"

Experiential Learning Approach (all age groups)

Duration: Half day (3–4 hours) | Group size: 10–20 participants | Location: Outdoors

A) Who was Mary Ward?
  • Station 1 – Starting point (15 min): Tell Mary Ward’s life story as a “pilgrimage”. She travelled across Europe on foot – from England through Flanders to Rome. Each person receives a real rucksack.
B) What are the values that were particularly important to Mary Ward?
  • Stations 2–5 (20 min each): Four stations along the walk, each dedicated to one value. At each station: a short stimulus text (from the website materials), a practical exercise (e.g. a trust exercise for “Sincerity”, a team challenge for “Justice”).
C) What do Mary Ward’s values mean to you?
  • Walking meditation/quiet work (15 min): Walk in silence between stations and reflect on the respective value.
D) Which values would you pack for your journey through life?
  • At the destination (30 min): Each person inscribes a stone with the values they chose and symbolically places the stone into their rucksack. 
  • Closing circle: Shared exchange in a circle.
E) How can Mary Ward’s values help when things get difficult? (for older participants)
  • Reflection at one station (20 min): Scenario “Difficult stretch of the journey” – deliberately walk a steep/uncomfortable section and reflect: Which value helps me when the path is hard?
Additional Section: “Travelling Together”
  • Mary Ward never walked alone – as we can learn on the website with the toolbox. Closing questions: Whom do I take with me on my journey? Whom do I allow to walk alongside me?

Lesson Plan 5: "Values Workshop"

Project-Based Approach (from approx. 14 years)

Duration: Project day or project week | Group size: 15–30 participants

A) Who was Mary Ward?
B) What are the values that were particularly important to Mary Ward?
  • Expert jigsaw (45 min): Jigsaw method – each person becomes an expert on one value, then knowledge is shared in mixed groups.
C) What do Mary Ward’s values mean to you?
  • Creative workshop (90 min): Elective workshops:
    • 🎨 Art: Create own images/collages about the values
    • 🎬 Film: Produce a short video about a value
    • ✍️ Writing: Compose a poem, rap or essay
    • 🎭 Drama: Develop a scene that illustrates a value
D) Which values would you pack for your journey through life?
  • Individual work/reflection (30 min): Letter to your future self: Which values do I want to still be living in 5 years’ time?
E) How can Mary Ward’s values help when things get difficult?
  • Panel discussion (45 min): Invite practitioners from social work, pastoral care or volunteering. Question: How do values help in everyday work with people in need?
F) How can Mary Ward’s values help us to help others who have little or nothing?
  • Project planning (60 min): Groups develop a real aid project for the school/parish based on one of Mary Ward’s values (e.g. “Justice project: food rescue”).
Additional Section: “Presentation and Sharing”

Results are displayed in the school/parish or shared digitally – using the materials and social media templates from the website.

Dive deeper into the spirituality of Mary Ward

The "Just Soul"

On 1st November 1615 Mary Ward received a spiritual insight that is known as the ‘Just Soul’, an understanding about how she and her sisters should live out their vocation.

read on

The "Verity Speech"

"Verity Speech" is not an official title, but rather a keyword that refers to an address that Mary Ward gave to her fellow sisters.

read on

The Painted Life

This series of pictures shows us the most important spiritual experiences of Mary Ward.

read on

Even more inspiration

The missionary aspect of our spirituality

The sisters of our congregation live an apostolic life, our spirituality is not monastic, but missionary. We follow Jesus in the footsteps of Mary Ward.

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Ignatian Examen​

The Ignatian Examen is a short, structured prayer at the end of the day, developed by St Ignatius of Loyola in the sixteenth century. It is part of our daily practice.

read on

Prayers on behalf of the Cause of Mary Ward

We pray this on every 23 of each month and as often as possible on the other days.

read on

© Congregatio Jesu, 2026

Congregatio Jesu – Via Nomentana 250, I-00162 Roma | Italia