The Mission of this Province
Because the sisters increasingly felt the need to respond to what was happening in society and no longer worked exclusively in convent buildings or school buildings.
Fulfilling their mission "extra muros" has become their goal. In the province of Northern Belgium, a resolute choice was made for innovation with others apostolates and missions.
The sisters left their mark on the history of the provinces of "Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, East and West Flanders".
The sisters in Northern Belgium had their own novitiate, first in Bonheiden and then in Berchem. They were very active in education.
The 'Nieuwen Bosch' school in Ghent and the 'Kapelhof' school in Zele are schools that mère Julie knew. That is why SNDdeN novices from all over the world visit Ghent before taking their final vows. In fact, Ghent was the first place in Flanders where Julie Billiart established a communitywho founded a school under her wing.
In honor of the foundress, the new boarding school in Ghent was named Julie Billiart.
Nieuwen Bosch, boarding school, in Ghent
The sisters also had schools in Antwerp, Berchem-Antwerp, Borgerhout, Merksem, Oudenburg, Roesbrugge, Sint-Gillis-Waas, Sint-Niklaas and Tienen.
The municipality of Antwerp has had a memorial plaque placed on the facade of the school in Berchem as a tribute and thanks for what the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur have meant to Berchem.
The sisters have also worked in:
- The “Maagdenhuis” orphanage in Antwerp
- A shelter for young people in Beernem
- A community in Westmalle
- A student home in Leuven, “Home Julie Billiart”. The home also provided shelter for sisters who studied in Leuven.
The Flemish sisters sent missionaries to Congo, Brazil and Nicaragua. Many sisters carried out their mission outside the monastery building through apostolic work among the common people and especially for the less fortunate.
They have provided various services: Dutch lessons for undocumented women and arithmetic lessons for children, support for unmarried mothers and visits to the elderly and sick, and work in parishes and social services.
Here are some photos that recall their apostolate
In education, in social centers, in parishes, among the underprivileged, with single mothers and as missionaries
Education
Sister Joanna Vermeulen (teacher in the teacher training at Onze Lady Institute in Berchem), for her departure to Brazil in 1968
Zele School in the 1970s
Sister Bernadette Janssens in 1994 in the nursery school at Onze-Lieve Women’s Institute in Berchem; she worked from it 1965 to 1994.
Sr. Bernadette retires and is celebrated by the children and teachers
Sr. Lieve Van Royen in the parish, circa 2017
Parish work or work in a social service.
Sister Annie Vanhamel has chosen a mission among the poorest in the underprivileged neighborhoods of Antwerp (Photo 2017)
Sister Nina participates in groups that facilitate faith conversations and is active within the Council of Religious of the Diocese of Antwerp, among other things
Dutch lessons for undocumented women and arithmetic lessons for children
Sr Martha Onghena; her mission was to teach Dutch to women “without papers” and arithmetic lessons to the underprivileged and migrant children (Photo 2017)
Sr Thérèse Van der Auwera; co-responsible for a center for unwed mothers in Brussels and missionary in Congo.
Of missionaries
Sr Joanna Vermeulen in Brazil
Sr Jacqueline Kamp in Congo