Belgium and France
SND Foundation established in 1806
The first foundation of St. Julie after Amiens was St. Nicholas in Flanders, in 1806, with French and Flemish Sisters.
The house in Namur was founded in 1807 and became the Mother-House in 1809.
In 1968, the Belgian Province was divided into North Belgium and South Belgium.
All the houses had a free primary school ; certain others had also a paying primary school. Several communities had also a boarding school and a secondary school. Throughout the years, many schools evolved. Since the school agreement of 1968, our schools became part of the Federation of Catholic Education and the teachers are paid by the State, with retirement required at 65 years of age, at the latest.
Until the 1970s, the Sisters dedicated themselves to education. Then, they diversified in the manner of educating : tutoring, cathechesis, parish secretariats, hospital chaplains, visiting the sick and prisoners, etc.
In 2014, the last teaching Sister retired. Retired Sisters exercise voluntary involvement in the measure that is possible for them. Two Sisters support the lay teachers in the Notre Dame schools in Belgium and France through ASSOEC( Association of Congregational Schools).
Since 2007, Congolese Sisters have become members of Belgium-South/France Province.
www.sndden.be
Britain
SND foundation established in 1845
In 1845, our Sisters came to Penryn in Cornwall and subsequently moved across Britain to the major industrial cities in England and Scotland. The early sisters were instrumental in pioneering the development of education in the early part of the 19th century, working in the heart of cities and industrial towns. The sisters opened a college for teacher training in Liverpool in 1856 and in Glasgow in 1895 – the first of their kind. Initially the work was mainly in schools and colleges of further education.
Responding to the evolving needs in our society, we now work in education in its broadest context, in many areas across Britain. Belonging to the international community of Notre Dame we commit ourselves to living out the message of the Gospel, helping to spread God’s love in our world of today. Everything we have is held in common and we are prepared to go wherever we are needed.
Naming the ministries within the British Province reveals a mere glimpse of their richness and the depth of commitment required. They are underpinned with a wide understanding of life in community, which calls for the adaptation of living patterns to rapidly changing needs. They reveal the riches of apostolic life which can be lived quietly and unobstrusively, traditionally in schools, universities and clinics or innovatively in challenging new ventures.
Many British Sisters are currently living and working in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, Nicaragua etc.
Ministries in the United Kingdom
- Education
- Social Service
- Pastoral Work
- Work with Refugees
- The Arts
- Apostolate of Prayer
View the website of our Sisters in Britain
View the website of British Federation of Notre Dame de Namur
View the catechetical resources of Sr. Joan Mary Brown SNDdeN on her publisher’s website.
Italy
SND foundation established in 1930
In addition to our Sisters who are on the team that leads the worldwide Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (called the Congregational Leadership Team), there is a second SND community in Rome, Italy. These Sisters live in a convent attached to the Istituto Giulia Billiart, a school in the southeast sector of the City of Rome. The school and convent were established by our Congregation in 1931 with an international community of Sisters from Belgium, Britain, and the United States.
Our Italian Sisters are involved in various forms of education at the school, which enrolls 250 children and features day care, nursery school, kindergarten, and elementary-level programs.
Generalate Offices
In the 1960s, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur moved the Generalate Offices from Namur, Belgium to Rome, Italy. Since that time, offices for the Congregational Leadership have been located in four different places in Rome and its environs.
Ministries in Italy
- Generalate of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
- Education
- Apostolate of Prayer
