Foundation Of A Congregation
Our congregation began in Bavaria, now part of Germany, in 1833, during a time of political and social upheaval. The Napoleonic Wars left Bavaria poverty-stricken. Destitute young women found themselves with children but without husbands or means of support. Hunger and illiteracy were commonplace. Christian values and beliefs were abandoned in the modern, enlightened world of the 19th century.

Destined to become our foundress, Caroline Gerhardinger came of age in Bavaria during these turbulent times. She began teaching at age fifteen at the parish school in Stadtamhof. Under Father Michael Wittmann's spiritual guidance, Caroline gradually recognized God's call to found a religious community which would remedy the social situation through education.

In their vision, the renewal of society depended on the Christian family, in which the mother, the first educator, had a key role. Thus, they chose the Christian education of girls as the vital service her community would offer.

The congregation traces its actual beginning to October 24, 1833, when Caroline Gerhardinger and two other women began a common religious life in Neunburg vorm Wald, Bavaria. Taking the religious name of Mary Theresa of Jesus, she grounded her community in poverty in order to reach the poor and dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in whom she found a model for herself, her sisters, and the young girls she served.

Her first concern was for poor girls in small towns and villages. She sent sisters in twos and threes to reach people in rural areas. In doing so, she departed from the contemporary pattern of large, formal monasteries. Back to top

A 19th Century Woman Executive
In contrast to established precedents and the prevailing spirit of the times, she was convinced that a woman, rather than a man, could better understand and, therefore, direct and motivate her sisters. Accordingly, the Constitution of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, approved by Pope Pius IX in 1865, allowed Mother Theresa and her successors, rather than local bishops, to govern the members of the congregation. This provision gave impetus to the growth of School Sisters of Notre Dame as an international congregation with unity as its hallmark.

As Jesus knew death and resurrection, so did the young congregation. Extreme poverty characterized its early decades; in those years the sisters experienced contempt and abuse from those who could not accept their values. At the same time, new life and growth came to the congregation, which spread to eleven countries of Europe and North America during Mother Theresa's lifetime. Back to Top

Pioneer to the American Frontier
In 1847, only 14 years after the congregation was established, Mother Theresa heard a new call from God. She set out for America to help the German people who had emigrated to a forest settlement in Pennsylvania, where they hoped to build a new and better life for themselves and their children. The need to help these almost destitute people impelled Mother Theresa, with five companion sisters, to make the stormy voyage to America, only to be told that because they had no invitation from a bishop, it would be better to return to Germany on the next boat.

They did not turn back. In Baltimore, they received help from the provincial superior of the Redemptorists, Father John Neumann, now St. John Neumann. His guidance led to permission to teach in Baltimore and soon Mother Theresa and Sister Caroline Friess traveled more than 2000 miles by stagecoach and steamboat as far as the Mississippi River, returning via the Great Lakes. Often young women applied for admission to the congregation. After two years, Mother Theresa returned to Bavaria, leaving the American missions in the hands of twenty-three year old Sister Caroline. Back to Top

Pioneer to the Educational Frontier
At the time of Mother Theresa's death in 1879, more than 2,500 School Sisters of Notre Dame were living religious life according to her spirit. They met the needs of their time by educating girls, principally in elementary schools but also in orphanages, day nurseries, and vocational schools.They trained future teachers and pioneered in the development of kindergartens. For girls who were factory workers, they established homes and provided night schools where these girls could receive basic education.

Among the early founders of the American parochial school system, Mother Caroline and the sisters established schools throughout the United States and Canada. In the tradition of meeting the needs of the people in a missionary country, they also began to teach boys.

Over the years the School Sisters of Notre Dame established motherhouses in Milwaukee; Baltimore; St. Louis; Mankato, Minnesota; Waterdown, Ontario, Canada; Wilton, Connecticut; Dallas; and Chicago. From these missions sisters traveled and founded new missions all over the world.

Through two world wars which divided nations and peoples, through the changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council, the congregation has remained an international community living out Mother Theresa's desire that "all be one."

In our own day, despite extraordinary social, political, and economic changes, sisters continue to encourage and provide for women, to educate in the broadest sense of the word, to care for children and the poor, and to work for justice and peace.

Back to Top