News

Written by Sister Carol Datz About 18 years ago, I attended the Icon Retreat at Enders Island in Mystic, Connecticut. We were led in the process by instructors from the Prosopon School of Iconography in New York City. They follow the Russian Byzantine tradition. Icons are rich in symbolism. They are windows into the divine. Western art portrays spiritual events...Read more

By Grace Avila, Assistant Archivist Beginnings are not without their challenges. When School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) founded missions at parish schools, they would never know what type of situation they were getting into. The sisters could be warmly received by the community, met with open hostility or every other possibility in between. Opening missions in states with an...Read more

The Sonoran Desert, nestled in the southeast corner of Arizona, is a challenging environment of blistering hot days and chilly nights, mountainous terrain and dangerous animals. These obstacles make for a perilous journey for migrants, who are often unprepared for such hazards as they make their way towards the U.S.-Mexico border. Tragically, since the year 2000, nearly 4,000 men, women,...Read more

We take time during the Season of Creation to observe the International Day of Peace on September 21. Peace and right relationships are essential to promoting a culture of life and oneness with all creation. Achieving true peace entails much more than the laying down of arms. It requires the building of societies where all members feel they can flourish....Read more

According to Sister Bridget Waldorf, she “put in a lot of miles” this summer. As a member of the North American Vocation Team (NAVT) for the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND), Sister Bridget made sure she had plenty of opportunities to accompany young people during their summer break this year. This meant participation in several days-long programs scheduled throughout...Read more

During National Migration Week, there is an opportunity to reflect on the circumstances confronting migrants, including immigrants, refugees, children, and victims and survivors of human trafficking. The history of the School Sisters of Notre Dame is inextricably connected to the immigrant experience. SSND initially came to the U.S. as immigrants to respond to the educational needs of German immigrants. For...Read more

This month, Sister Beatriz Martinez-Garcia will participate in the Transforming Education Summit, September 16-19, during the 77th Session of the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly. As the SSND non-governmental organization (NGO) representative at the U.N., Sister Beatriz works with other NGOs to bring a variety of urgent needs related to dignity of life and care for creation to the attention...Read more

September 1-October 4 Season of Creation prayer  |  SeasonOfCreation.org  |  SSND Laudato Si’ Commitment The Season of Creation begins September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. Season of Creation is a time when we renew our relationship with God and...Read more

By Tim Cary, Processing Archivist Transforming the world through education. The ministry of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) is meaningful to the people they teach. The words are also important to the sisters themselves. Prior to the early 1950s, teaching sisters got relatively little formal training before being placed into the classroom. They met the same standards that...Read more

Sister Marcianne Bzdon is a teacher at Newman Central Catholic High School in Sterling, Illinois. In her blog, Sister’s Spin, she shares this reflection on the upcoming school year. “‘…The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax — Of cabbages — and kings —…’” So spoke the imaginative...Read more