Our History: An Overview

The Community of Notre Dame Sisters dates back to the 16th century. It was founded in Lorraine, France in 1597 by St. Peter Fourier and Blessed Alix LeClerc.

When Alix was a young woman, the Blessed Mother appeared to her and handing her the child Jesus, said: “Take this child and make Him grow.”

With this mission in mind, Alix continued to search for the direction in which God was calling her so she could bring Christ to the minds and hearts of His people.

At that time in France, it was normal for mainly boys to receive any formal education. This fact greatly disturbed both Peter Fourier and Alix LeClerc. Both believed that education would empower people, especially the girls who would grow up to become mothers in families. An education containing religious instruction would then benefit the entire family and strengthen faith in the family and society. Therefore, after much prayer and deliberation, they founded a new community of Sisters to provide education for young girls, especially those who were poor. The motto St. Peter gave to the Notre Dame Sisters is “Help all and harm none.”

The Congregation grew rapidly and spread throughout France. However, during the French Revolution all religious communities were suppressed.

In 1853 Father Gabriel Schneider re-established the community in Czechoslovakia so that girls in his parish could receive a Christian education. The Motherhouse was established in Horazdovice, and again, many young women were attracted to this community and joined in the service of Christ by working in schools, orphanages, institutions for the disabled, and homes for the aged.

Requests for Sisters came from the United States in 1907. In response to these requests, Mother Mary Qualberta and four other Sisters left their homeland in 1910 to come to work with the Czech people. They first worked at an orphanage in Fenton near St. Louis, Missouri and later came to Nebraska and Iowa to staff Catholic schools. In 1911, five more Sisters came from Czechoslovakia and young women from this country also joined the community. So the Notre Dame Community grew and the Word of Christ continued to spread in America.

The headquarters building (Provincial Motherhouse) of the Notre Dame Sisters in America is located in Omaha, Nebraska. Today the Sisters are involved in a wide variety of ministries in the Midwest that include: education, nursing, pastoral ministry, care of the elderly, housing, religious education, social work, counseling, diocesan ministry, administration, mission work and a variety of other good works. In all these services, the Sisters strive to carry on the mission Our Lady first gave to Alix LeClerc: “Take this Child and make Him grow.”