FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
School Sisters of Notre Dame
507-389-4109
www.ssndmankato.org
info@ssndmankato.org
September 8, 2010
School Sisters of Notre Dame Form New Province
MANKATO, Minn.—The School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND), a Catholic congregation of women religious, are reconfiguring and forming a new province in North America. The sisters of the current provinces in Mankato, Minn.; Dallas, Texas; Milwaukee, Wis.; and St. Louis, Mo, are uniting next year as a new province. The inauguration day is Sunday, June 12, 2011, on the day Christians celebrate the feast of Pentecost.
“School Sisters of Notre Dame of the Central Pacific Province” is
the name of the new unit. “Central Pacific Province” is a reference
to the central United States geographic location of the current campuses, the
SSND ministries in the western and Pacific coast areas, and the sisters in Japan
and Guam.
This province will have four campuses: the campus of Our Lady of Good Counsel
(also known as the Provincial House) in Mankato; the campus of Dallas, which
includes St. Mary of the Pines in Chatawa, Miss., and offices in San Antonio,
Texas; the campus of Notre Dame of Elm Grove in Elm Grove, Wis.; and the campus
of Sancta Maria in Ripa (also known as the Motherhouse) in St. Louis.
More than 1,200 sisters will be united in this new province of SSND. Each city
will continue to have an SSND presence, including regional offices, schools,
healthcare facilities and ministry sites. While each campus brings similar gifts
to the new unit, the main address for the new province will be at the campus
of Sancta Maria in Ripa in St. Louis.
This new SSND province is just one of many throughout the world; School Sisters
presently serve in 35 countries. The other provinces in North America are the
Atlantic-Midwest Province and the Canadian Province.
“As an international congregation, we are looking at reconfiguring our
provinces across the world to better respond to those we serve,” said
Sister Marjorie Klein, the leader of the SSND Mankato Province.
“The School Sisters of Notre Dame, their presence and their ministries
will continue to flourish wherever they are in this new province, because we
have made the choice to pool our resources. We are bringing together some of
the functional and administrative aspects of each unit, to free both personnel
and resources for the mission. “Our mission,” Sister Marjorie added,
“is to respond to the needs of the poor, of women and children, through
our many and varied ministries.”
The sisters coming together in this new province have been talking about collaboration
and reconfiguring since November 2005. After more than four years of planning,
the new province is taking shape. Donors and supporters of SSND ministries will
continue to be crucial to the success of the SSND mission.
The School Sisters of Notre Dame have a history of adapting to changing times
to better respond to those in need. The congregation was founded in Bavaria
in 1833, with its original mission to educate and minister among poor women
and children.
School Sisters have been in the United States since 1847, in response to a request
for teachers to educate the children of German immigrants. They quickly became
respected and requested as teachers for parochial and public schools, from preschools
to universities. The sisters have been serving in the Mankato area since 1865.
The sisters share their commitment – to transform the world through education
– in various settings, including classrooms for all levels of education,
parishes, healthcare facilities, prisons and social service organizations.
For more information, please call 507-389-4109 or email info@ssndmankato.org.
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