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California 175th Anniversary Luncheon Tickets Now on Sale
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Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, 11:30 a.m. in Foster City
There are two weeks remaining to purchase your tickets! Will you join us to celebrate 175 years of impact in California? Learn more about our history, mingle with the Sisters and enjoy a delicious meal with our community. We look forward to sharing this wonderful event with you!
Click here for event details and information about sponsorship opportunities. With you, we are Woven Together in God’s Goodness.
Share your memories of Sisters in California or send your warm wishes on this historic occasion. Email us today.
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West Coast Sisters Celebrate Jubilee
August brought us a beautiful afternoon in Belmont, California, when four Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur were honored at a Jubilee celebration held at the province center.
Together, these Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur have spent 270 years making known God’s goodness in the world: Ruth Ella (80 years), Maureen Hilliard (60 years), Patricia Hutchison (70 years) and Rosa Dolores Rodriguez (60 years).
God bless you, Sisters, and thank you for your faithfulness!
Up next: Our final 2026 Jubilee in Windsor, Connecticut, will be held on Sept. 12!
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Many Charisms, One Spirit, One Call
For three sun-filled days in August, leaders of various SNDdeN provinces met with their peers at the annual assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in Orlando, Florida.
Uniting women and men from Canada, the United States and Latin America, the assembly offered personal witness, profound dialogue and communal reflection on the vocation of religious life. In fact, Pope Leo sent a special video message to the assembly urging all to foster vocations within our congregations: “... despite the increasing phenomenon of secularization in the world, there is also a growing hunger for God.”
As Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, may our good God strengthen us to respond joyfully to the Gospel call in our lives, mission and ministries.
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Back row, left to right: Sisters Loreta Jordan, Kathryn Keenan, Carla Vasconcelos, Kristin Matthes, Ginny Scally, Patty Chappell, SNDdeN
Front row, left to right: Sisters Roberta Rzeznik, Lucyane Diniz, Josita Colbert, Marie Verrilli, Marie Romejko, Maria Delaney, SNDdeN
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Sister Jeannette Receives Award
Sister Jeannette Pierre-Louis, SNDdeN devoted decades to serving the people of Haiti, her home country. This summer, the Association of Former Students of Sainte Enfance School (Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti) celebrated her commitment by awarding her its Plaque of Honor.
According to Sister Nancy Citro, SNDdeN, the award recognized Sister Jeannette's work to end discrimination against single mothers at the all-boys school in Haiti, where she was principal before joining SNDdeN. At the time, boys could not enroll unless a father lived in the home.
You can learn more about Sister Jeannette's work on our website.
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Sister Kathy Featured in the News
For more than 50 years, Sister Kathy O'Hagan, SNDdeN and her ministry partner, Sister Gretchen Shaffer, SJ have responded joyfully to the call as educators and humanitarians in the West Virginia community of Kermit.
They were recently featured in The Daily Yonder, a publication that provides news, commentary and analysis about and for rural America. In the article, “A Rural Calling: Sisters Gretchen Shaffer and Kathleen O’Hagan,” the journalist describes how the two Sisters began sharing God’s love through action in 1975. Read it here.
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Hiroshima-Nagasaki Virtual Prayer Service
In August, we were honored to co-sponsor “From Remembrance to Abolition,” a prayer service marking the anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in Japan decades ago.
An article about the event in Global Sisters Report mentioned Sister Agnes Hirota, SNDdeN, who survived the bombing of Hiroshima as a child.
As we honor and remember lives lost and suffering endured, we pray for a world where peace is stronger than violence and where nuclear weapons have no place. With God, all things are possible.
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Prepare Today for Fall Elections
Voting for our nation’s leaders is a fundamental right and responsibility for every American.
Our Sisters of the U.S. East-West Province are a sponsor of a nationwide nonpartisan effort rooted in Catholic Social Teaching to educate, engage and move more people to participate in democracy. The goal is to inform voters with facts and inspire them to act in faith.
This campaign is anchored around three calls to action: “See. Love. Vote.” Get resources, register to vote and find other information here.
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Students Collaborate on Summer Research
For the second year, Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School students worked alongside undergraduates at Emmanuel College to learn valuable science research skills.
In the college's Department of Chemistry and Physics, teens gained firsthand experience in a chemistry lab by assisting with experiments and data analysis. One team studied nano-sized particles called carbon dots to find out what makes them glow brightly under light. We applaud this wonderful collaboration between Notre Dame schools!
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New STEM Center at Notre Dame Belmont
Sisters who attended a school-wide celebration at Notre Dame High School in Belmont, California, helped open the doors to the school’s brand-new STEM Wing.
Construction began just six months ago to integrate upgraded science rooms with new facilities designed to support women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
Beyond labs and classrooms, the space allows students to develop the technical expertise, creative confidence and moral awareness needed to impact tomorrow’s world.
Pictured left to right: Sisters Yvonne Bondi and Virginia Unger, SNDdeN
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Explore a Vocation with Us in September (Virtual)
Saturday, Sept. 12, 5:30 p.m. PT / 8:30 p.m. ET
"God dwells in our hearts. A vocation entails an intimate dialogue with the One who calls and invites us to respond, despite the deafening noise of the world, with true joy and generosity." ~ Pope Leo XIV
Would you like a safe space to explore the call to religious life? Join us to learn more about the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and our mission in the world today. Register online for “Journey with St. Julie” to receive the Zoom link.
For more information on Vocations, visit us online.
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Sister Sheila Palmer, SNDdeN
Sister Sheila, a 70-year Jubilarian in 2026, went home to her good God on Sunday, Aug. 2. She was 87.
A native of Jamaica, Sister Sheila taught high school in Connecticut and Maryland before answering the call to help start the Notre Dame Education Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and teaching English as a Second Language. She jumped at the chance to work with culturally diverse students.
After seven decades of religious life, Sister Sheila was most grateful that God led her to become a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur.
Read more about her life and ministry on our website.
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Sister Louann Sciubba, SNDdeN
Sister Louann, 87, went home to her good God on Aug. 29, after 68 years of religious life.
She was a lifelong learner who moved from classroom teaching to parish ministry, using her master’s degrees in religious studies and pastoral counseling to make known God’s goodness. Sister Louann faithfully served throughout Maryland, Georgia and New York during her long season of active ministry and helped lead the Chesapeake Province for several years.
Read more about her extraordinary life on our website.
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