Our Sponsors
Our Sponsors
NDEC is sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
St. Julie Billiart, a peasant woman of extraordinary faith, and Francoise Blin de Bourdon, a noblewoman, came together in Amiens, France in the early 1800’s. Faith in God as well as the destitution of post-revolutionary France impelled these women to dare to realize their vision. At a time when Jansenism, with its emphasis on sin and the essential depravity of human beings, was the dominant theology, Julie and Francoise preached that "God is good." At a time when people were starving – and when the little education that was available was reserved for wealthy boys – Julie and Francoise decided to open schools for girls, especially those in the "most abandoned places." This vision gave birth to the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1804, women religious who for 205 years have been engaged in the work of education.
Julie Billiart and Françoise Blin de Bourdon founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDs) in 1804 with extraordinary clarity of vision. The Congregation would be world-wide and dedicated to the poor in the most abandoned places. In carrying out that vision, SNDs would make credible that God is good and give special attention to educating people for life, that is, enabling them to be active participants in creating a socially just world in order to "make real and credible the message of the gospel" (Sisters Constitutions).
Despite the political, church and economic challenges of their time, Julie and Francoise moved forward with faith and with courage. Between 1804 and 1840, many women joined the Sisters of Notre Dame. As their skill as educators became known, the sisters established many parish, poor and boarding schools in France and Belgium. The Notre Dame Constitutions describe their "way marked by joy and confidence, by contemplative prayer and action, and by perseverance in the face of difficulties."
By 1840 the Sisters had became aware of the needs of natives and new peoples in North America. Eight Sisters of Notre Dame set out from Belgium and arrived in Cincinnati in 1840. Immediately they began schools for the immigrant families in Ohio. The success of these schools led to the requests from other US Bishops for sisters to set up schools in Massachusetts, Oregon, California, Maryland and Connecticut.
From 1840 through 1960, expansion was rapid in the US as bishops labored to provide Catholic education for their people. SND schools spread rapidly throughout Massachusetts in Boston, Lowell, Lawrence, Lynn, Salem and Springfield, all cities with large working class immigrant families.
Today, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur are 1600+ women vitally engaged on five continents and seventeen countries. SNDs work in a variety of ministries but all with an eye for the poor and toward the creation of viable ways to eliminate poverty. Although their numbers have decreased in the USA, their passion has not. They are working diligently toward a national community-in-mission, and are embracing more and more regional initiatives. In the summer of 2009 at their National Assembly, they re-adopted education for life as their first national priority. They also promised to give special attention to immigrant populations.
In all of their ministries SNDs network with other groups of like purpose. SNDs serve in schools, agencies, parishes and spirituality centers. They serve on educational and non-profit Boards, participate in parish committees and work inclusively with Sisters of Notre Dame Associates and Notre Dame Mission Volunteers. They are intentionally collaborative with their sisters in Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America. As a Congregation, their Jubilee Fund ensures the sharing of resources, while particular projects share human resources from one continent to another.
The mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame is to "participate in the liberating mission of Jesus" by standing with the poor wherever they may be, which often means in the US inner cities and in rural and urban areas overseas. The SND goals are to make real in our day, as the foundresses did in theirs, that God is good; to educate for life; and to change unjust structures into life-giving ones.
SND accomplish these goals through a spiritual methodology of action that is described as reflection-action-reflection. This process demands an ongoing analysis of the socio-economic-political situation of ministries, theological reflection, an assessment of ministerial response and then commitment to continued, revised and/or new actions. The ways one relates on a daily basis with those in ministries is critical, and for that reason SNDs strive to create a climate of mutual respect, an affirming manner and the mastery of skills that will enable human and professional growth. Together with those they serve, SNDs will continue to advocate strongly for resources and systems that will help people out of poverty and toward creation of a just society in order to help all experience God's goodness.
The programs or ministries that support these key organizational goals are: education, pastoral service, spirituality, health care and community development. The Sisters Constitutions say "we recognize all our relationships as privileged opportunities for encounters with God. We work with others to transform unjust structures and systems as we participate in new ways of relating which enable all to experience more fully the goodness of God."