The Sisters of Notre Dame have touched thousands of lives, often through their work in education and parish ministry, since arriving in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland in 1874. The order traces its roots to 1850 in Coesfeld, Germany.
At that time, the 27-year-old Catholic Diocese of Cleveland was led by Bishop Richard Gilmour, the diocese’s second bishop. Pope Pius IX headed the Catholic Church and Ulysses S. Grant was president of the United States.
It was a time of turmoil in parts of Europe, including Germany, where many religious fled because of anti-Catholic sentiment. This included a number of Capuchin Franciscan friars, who landed in the United States, with some making their way to Cleveland, along with a group of eight Sisters of Notre Dame.
(See photo gallery above.)
Bishop Gilmour invited the Sisters of Notre Dame, led by Sister Maria Aloysia, to the Cleveland Diocese. In 1877, they built a convent just east of St. Peter Church (founded in 1853) at what is now East 17th Street and Superior Avenue.
Cleveland became the center of the Sisters of Notre Dame’s apostolic work in the United States. The sisters constructed a larger building in 1896 to accommodate their growing congregation.
Education has been a fundamental part of the sisters’ ministry. They taught at St. Peter School from 1874 until the parish school closed in 1962. In 1922, they opened St. Peter High School as a two-year commercial school. It transitioned to a four-year comprehensive high school for girls in 1940. The school merged in 1971 with St. Stephen High School and Lourdes Academy, girls’ schools on the West Side of Cleveland, to form the new Erieview Catholic High School. The building, just east of St. Peter Church, now houses the Bishop William Cosgrove Center, a ministry of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland.
Father Phil Bernier, OFM Cap, St. Peter pastor, welcomed the sisters for a liturgy of thanksgiving on Sept. 8. Bishop Edward Malesic celebrated the Mass with Father Bernier, Auxiliary Bishop emeritus Roger Gries OSB, Abbot Gary Hoover, OSB, and Father Michael Brunovsky, OSB as concelebrants.
A native of the diocese, Father Bernier recalled many instances in which the sisters and their ministries impacted his life. He recalled serving in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California and recognizing a Sister of Notre Dame who was wearing the traditional habit. “The sisters had ministered in Watts with the Capuchins for a century,” he said, adding, “I have come to know the sisters in so many ways over the years.”
During his homily, Father Bernier thanked the sisters for their “incredible gift of being present.” He said they set a high bar with their ministries. It is unlikely that the first sisters spoke English when they arrived to minister to recent immigrants. “They taught and continue to teach us, asking us to be open to following the Son of God.”
Father Bernier mentioned the sunflowers outside the church that open themselves to the sun. “We are like those sunflowers,” he said, noting we must be open to following Jesus.
“Thank you, sisters, for being open to the power and province of God … You have always been grounded and rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ … Let us be open to whatever God has in store for us,” he added.
Sister Margaret Gorman, SND congregational leader, said it was “grounding to put our feet where our sisters did when they first arrived.” She noted that the first assignment of Sister Aloysia, their foundress, was St. Peter’s. Her last assignment was at Mount St. Mary Orphanage, now the site of St. Andrew Abbey, home of the Benedictine Order of Cleveland, and Benedictine High School, the all-boys schools sponsored by the Benedictine monks.
“We have connections to both St. Peter’s and the Benedictines,” Sister Gorman said. She thanked Father Bernier for reaching out two years ago and offering to host the 150th anniversary celebration.
Abbot Hoover said the Benedictine monks purchased the property on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Cleveland from the sisters and remain there.
“I often think about where the Benedictines would be if the Sisters of Notre Dame opted not to sell their property to us. Think of all the good that has taken place on that property,” he added.
“The Sisters of Notre Dame are special and this is a special place,” Bishop Malesic said. “The people in the history books planted the seeds and you ladies watered them. You have touched so many lives over the years,” he said.
The bishop reflected on the important contributions women have made and continue to make in the Church. “You have lived your faith,” he told the sisters, adding they answered God’s call to their vocation and became his special daughters. “Thank you for saying ‘yes’ and watering those seeds that were planted so long ago.”
Father Bernier said 42 women from St. Peter Parish answered God’s call and became members of the Sisters of Notre Dame. Several were at the Sept. 8 liturgy.
There was an outdoor reception after Mass where the sisters mingled with guests and shared memories.
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