Beginning Our 100th Anniversary in California, Visiting Our First Schools

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It is hard to believe that 100 years ago, in 1924, eleven sisters of Notre Dame arrived in California from Ohio to begin their missionary ministry in the Los Angeles area.

To begin the SND California Centennial year, our Sisters attended a Mass of Thanksgiving at each of the parishes where these first missionaries had taught. The schools were St. Matthias in Huntington Park and St. Lawrence of Brindisi in Watts.

Over these 100 years, the Sisters have staffed 22 schools and been involved in pastoral, social, and health care ministries from San Francisco to Long Beach.

In our educational programs, we have instilled the four SND principles of education:  the centrality of the good and provident God; the human dignity of each person as an image of God; the Notre Dame educator as a Gospel witness; and an integrated education for transformation.

In Notre Dame tradition, we have always promoted the whole child’s development and worked with parents to build a faith community based on Catholic teachings.

Today, 44 sisters still reside within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, ministering within schools, parishes, the Archdiocesan Central Office, in non-profit foundations, and in hospital ministry.