Mass in the Chapel

Good and Loving God,

For 84 years you have poured out your blessings on the people of Notre Dame College. We have been enriched by the legacy of service and commitment to individuals which have been so firmly established by the Sisters of Notre Dame who always relied on the providence of God. May we be filled with the spirit and zeal of the rich heritage of Sisters who ministered diligently for Christian education here in this building, animated by the good God and guided by the hand of Our Lady. Help us to carry on the work which began 84 years ago. May we the students, faculty, and staff of Notre Dame College be forever motivated by these words of St. Julie Billiart who said, “How much the good God does – so much more than we can imagine or desire – when we leave Him free to act”. Be free to act, God, in this place and pour out your blessings on us in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Blessing offered by Brian Emerson
Director of Campus Ministry
Founders’ Day celebration
September 20, 2006.

Criterion Statement: Notre Dame College operates with integrity to ensure the fulfillment of its mission through structures and processes that involve the board, administration, faculty, staff, and students.

Notre Dame College remains faithful to its Catholic heritage and mission. In fact, heritage and mission energize its growth and direct its future. This chapter identifies the mission documents and the guidance they provide to faculty, staff, students, the administration, and the Board of Directors in fulfilling the College’s mission.

Notre Dame College was founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922 and it holds sacred the history and charism of its founders. The charism of a religious order is that gift of the Holy Spirit that distinguishes one community from another and becomes each community’s mission in the world. The charism of the Sisters of Notre Dame is to “witness to God’s goodness and provident care for all people”. (Vision 2011: Strategic Planning for Mission; Sisters of Notre Dame, 2006, page 3)

“The Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio are members of an international congregation that originated in Coesfeld, Germany in 1850. Formed in the spiritual and pedagogical legacy of Bernard Overberg, Hilligonde Wolbring, with the help of her friend and fellow teacher Elisabeth Kuhling, began to provide a caring home where neglected children could live while attending school. Having decided to continue their mission as women religious, the two young teachers were introduced by the Sisters of Notre Dame of Amersfoort, Holland, to the Rule and religious spirit of St. Julie Billiart. Carrying within itself the charisms of Hilligonde and Julie, the new religious congregation emphasized both spirituality and apostolic ministry based on a deep experience of God’s goodness and provident care.

In July of 1874, eight sisters arrived in Cleveland, including the foundress, Sister Maria Aloysia (Hilligonde Wolbring). Two hundred Sisters of Notre Dame came to the United States to teach children of immigrants…The province grew gradually through the entrance of American young women and until the late 1930s, through volunteer sisters coming from Germany. Some parish elementary schools added two-year commercial courses and then four-year high school programs, providing a wide base for education and religious instruction by the Sisters. Private elementary and secondary schools were established, and Notre Dame College was founded in 1922.” (Vision 2011: Strategic Planning for Mission; Sisters of Notre Dame, 2006, page 12)

In its first years, the College’s Board of Trustees was exclusively Sisters of Notre Dame, as was the administration and most of the faculty. Today, the Board of Directors includes six Sisters of Notre Dame or 20 percent of the total membership, the faculty of 39 includes five Sisters of Notre Dame, and there are two Sisters on staff. The decreasing number of active Sisters on campus requires a conscious effort to stay in touch with the heritage of the Sisters of Notre Dame. One of the significant ways to do this is fidelity to the Mission Statement, revised in 2000:

Notre Dame College, a Catholic institution in the tradition of the Sisters of Notre Dame, educates a diverse population in the liberal arts for personal, professional and global responsibility.

 

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