Sisters of Notre Dame
in The United States
First SND foundation established here in 1840
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur came to the United States from Namur, Belgium in 1840 to do the work which their foundress, St. Julie Billiart, regarded as "the most important work on earth" — they came to teach. At the request of Archbishop John Purcell, eight Sisters established a school for girls in Cincinnati. This school and convent soon became the focal point from which new parish schools and academies were founded, reaching out to other areas of Ohio and eventually to Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland and beyond. In 1851, our Sisters from Namur established another U.S. foundation, this one in California.
Ministries in The United States:
• Education
• Social Service
• Health Care
• Pastoral Service
• Justice and Peace Ministries
• United Nations Representation
• Law
• College Administration
• Communications
• Community Action
• Prison Ministry
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SND Related websites in the U.S.
California • Ohio
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| Juile Family Learning Center Program, Boston |
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Sisters of Notre Dame in Mexico
Over the past several decades a number of Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur have served in Mexico. Currently, Sister Janet Grim SND (USA) accompanies the people of Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco. After having fallen in love with Guadalajara and its people during a 9-week summer session with the SND collaborative program titled "Spanish Education for Women," (founded in 1985 by Srs. Nancy Haines, Denise Curry, and Ms. Debbie Polhamus) Sr. Janet took up residency in Guadalajara in 1988.
Sr. Janet funds her mission by teaching English as a second language at ITESO Instituo Technologico de Estudios Superiores de Occidente, the Jesuit University founded by concerned parents of Jesuit high school students in 1955. She lives with a Mexican family and volunteers in pastoral work with the Comunidades Eclesiales de Base (ecclesial base communities) in a poor section of the city called Cerro del Cuatro.
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For the past 20 years, Sr. Denise Curry has traveled from the mid-Atlantic area of the United States to Mexico, where she has spent each summer in a program of education for women, which she helped design. She is photographed here with Jorge Barajas, a son of the Mexican family with whom she has stayed for years. She met Jorge when he was 15 years old. He is now married with a small child and works in a Jesuit labor-rights organization.
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Ministries in Mexico:
• Education
• Social Service
• Pastoral Service
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Reflections from
Janet Grimm, SND
"My Life & Work in Guadalajara, Mexico" |
