2006

The School Sisters of Notre Dame Celebrate Jubilees for 2006
(August 29, 2006)

2002: A year of celebration
(January 30, 2002)

School Sisters of Notre Dame vote and work for peace
(October 22, 2002)

2002: A year of celebration

January 30, 2002

This is a year of celebration for the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Canadian Province. We are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our love story as it has unfolded in Canada: in 1927 the Canadian Province of the School Sisters of Notre Dame was established. In that same year we opened a boarding school in Leipzig, Saskatchewan, and the Motherhouse for the Canadian Province in Waterdown, Ontario.

THE PROVINCE

The School Sisters of Notre Dame, an international community of women in mission, began in Bavaria, now part of Germany, in 1833 under the leadership of Blessed Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger. Impelled by their love for God and God's people they sought, through education, to help remedy the social ills of the times caused by the Napoleonic wars.

In 1847 five SSND's went to the United States to provide education for German immigrant children. An invitation to assist in the orphanage in St. Agatha, Ontario brought the School Sisters of Notre Dame to Canada in 1871. By 1927 SSND ministry in Canada had spread into the west with the opening of the boarding school in Leipzig, Saskatchewan. Throughout this time period, our Canadian pioneer Sisters received their initial religious formation at the Motherhouse in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This changed in 1927 when the Canadian Province became an administrative unit of the congregation and a Canadian Motherhouse was built in Waterdown, Ontario.

The spirit of the founders is alive in the congregation today and is seen in the ardent desire of the sisters to do the will of God, in their apostolic zeal to educate youth, especially women and persons who are poor, and in their desire to bring all to oneness in God. Education, in its broadest sense, enabling people to reach the full potential for which God created them, remains the focus of SSND ministry whether in the elementary grades, highschool, university or adult education; parish ministry; catechetics; counselling and spiritual direction; social justice work; the ministry of prayer and presence; or community leadership.

THE MOTHERHOUSE

Waterdown was chosen as the location of the Canadian Motherhouse because it was close to the Hamilton Teacher's College (then known as the Normal School) where the young sisters could study for their Teacher's Certificate. Today it houses the offices of the Provincial Council and other provincial departments. It is also the retirement home of the School Sisters of Notre Dame of the Canadian province, a home of prayer and contemplation, a place of quiet beauty and gracious hospitality. Here, too, SSND collaborates with other apostolic activities including: Seniors Activation and Maintenance day programme (SAM), Children's Workshop, Music Education, Meals on Wheels, St. Thomas Parish, and Diocesan Religious Education by Correspondence. On the grounds you will find many beautiful spots including the Notre Dame cemetery and the Jubilee Garden.

CELEBRATIONS

Throughout the year we will be remembering and celebrating those who worked so hard to help us, spiritually and financially, over the years. We invite alumnae, friends, relatives, benefactors, and former members to come celebrate with us. Events will be posted on our website: www.ssndcanadian.org. You can also contact us through the website or by phone 905-689-6344 ext.209.