Archive for June 2024

[As the sesquicentennial of the arrival of the Sisters of Notre Dame in America approaches on July 4, 2024, my thoughts turn to the founding sister.] Sister Maria Aloysia was someone who always did what needed to be done, as was shown in her going to the United States as a traveling companion to Mother…

The only Catholic Church in Toledo was St. Francis de Sales, serving all nationalities. German immigrants petitioned Bishop Louis Amadeus Rappe for a pastor and parish of their own. In January 1854 Father Charles Evrard was appointed as pastor. St. Mary School on Orange Street opened in September 1874. The Ursuline Sisters were teaching in…

Cleveland, Ohio became the center for the Sisters of Notre Dame in the United States. Within five years affiliations sprang up in Delphos, Toledo, Fremont, Millersville, Napoleon, Norwalk and Peru, Ohio. When the Kulturkampf abated, Mother Mary Chrysostom Heck returned to Germany on May 9, 1887, to re-establish the congregational Motherhouse in Germany. In a…

Sr. John the Evangelist Parish in Delphos was like a cornerstone foundation for what would become the Toledo, Ohio province. For that time until the present 2024 there have always been Sisters of Notre Dame in that town. It was a town that fostered religious vocations, and many sisters over the years, including the present,…

You may know that Sisters celebrate the special anniversaries of their years in religious life. You may have congratulated Sisters on the 25th, 50th, 60th anniversary, usually called Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees. Maybe you’ve even celebrated Iron Jubilees with Sisters having spent 65 years in religious life or the Jubilee of Grace for Sisters…

Requests for Sisters came quickly after the foundresses Sister Maria Aloysia Wolbring and Sister Maria Ignatia Kühling began religious life in 1850. Between 1856 and 1872 many foundations were established at the requests of pastors who wanted teachers for kindergartens and elementary school, as well as some secondary schools for girls and needle-work schools. In…

When the laws of the Kulturkampf lessened their demands, Mother Mary Chrysostom Heck prepared to return to Germany. On May 9, 1887, she left the United States to re-establish the congregational Motherhouse in Germany. In 1888 Mülhausen became the Center of the Congregation, while Cleveland was designated as the Provincial Motherhouse. At this time 264…

The first Sisters coming to the United States spoke German while making valiant efforts to master English. Their area of apostolate became the towns of German immigrants, for example in Delphos, Ohio, where Reverend John Bredeick, whose inheritance would make him comparable to a millionaire today, had great influence on commerce, especially railroads in the…

Perhaps you’ve seen one of your current or former teachers or parish leaders in the grocery store. You chatted and she got into her car for home. That didn’t happen during the 1870’s and 1880’s when our Sisters bought food. Sisters always went everywhere in twos. Cars weren’t invented. And the Sisters were limited in…

Annals will apprise you of exact dates and places. For now, let’s look at the homes where one sister—Sister Justina Rickert—lived. Do any of these towns surprise you? Do you know Sisters of Notre Dame who have lived there? Can you find Sisters there now? Ask a Sister if her life sounds like that of…