Although the SSND North American Archives (NAA) is a treasure trove of objects and information from the congregation’s rich history, many people don’t know much about what it contains or how the people who work there spend their days. To learn more, we asked NAA staff members about the work they do as archivists and the collection they maintain. Here...Read more

On May 22, 1897, a group of women met in the library of the Academy of Our Lady (AOL), Chicago, Illinois, with the purpose of forming an alumnae association. The School Sisters of Notre Dame North American Archives (NAA) holds a book titled, “Alumnae Association of the Academy of Our Lady, Longwood, Ill, Rules and Minutes.” In it we learn...Read more

In October 2025, all records being kept by the Academy of Our Lady Alumnae Association were moved to the SSND North American Archives. Among the many treasures that came over was a scrapbook put together by Sarah Byrne, a member of the school’s Class of 1913. The scrapbook provides a glimpse into the life of a student of this SSND...Read more

It was the early 1960s, a time of great uncertainly in Bolivia, when the School Sisters of Notre Dame established a mission there. A war with Paraguay that ended in 1935 had left the country economically and politically unstable, and in 1952, a revolution resulted in rule by a series of military juntas. In 1961, a constitutional republic was established,...Read more

Alumnae files from Academy of Our Lady (AOL), a Catholic girls’ school owned and operated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) for nearly 125 years, will be transferred this fall to the SSND North American Archives (NAA) in Milwaukee. The school, known informally as Longwood Academy from the name given to the area in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood where...Read more

On Scholars’ Day, May 7, 2025, visitors at Mount Mary University had an opportunity to play an alternative reality game that put together elements of an escape room and scavenger hunt. The game, developed by students in the advanced writing for new media class taught by Dr. Casey O’Ceallaigh, featured five “Spirits of SSND” who helped players advance through the...Read more

On November 11, 1962, Typhoon Karen devastated the island of Guam. Eleven people were killed, and 95% of homes were destroyed, leaving 45,000 people, mostly Guamanians, homeless. Fifty-three School Sisters of Notre Dame, eight postulants, and ten aspirants living in four locations on the island lived through the storm and recorded their experiences in letters, chronicle entries, oral histories, and...Read more

Thanks to Irene Simmons for sharing these photos from the collection of her mother, Louise Klein Bialobrzeski. The first photo shows Louise’s aunt, Sister Ceslawa Kielpinski (second from left), sewing in the convent yard with a group of fellow sisters. The second shows her working in the garden as a novice, perhaps at St. Adelbert’s in Milwaukee where she ministered...Read more

The SSND North American Archives is a treasure trove of documents, photographs, books, audio-visual materials, and other items that date back to the establishment of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in North America. One of the many cherished articles is the monstrance created for the 50th jubilee of Mother Caroline Friess, who led the expansion of SSND into North...Read more

As we celebrate Catholic School Week, we remember the work that Sister Caroleen Hensgen did to break new ground for women in the world of Catholic education. In 1967, this SSND was appointed to serve as the superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth, making her the first woman to hold that position in the United States....Read more