Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

religious order

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July 1, 2026

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The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur are a Roman Catholic religious order founded in 1803 in Belgium, with a primary devotion to teaching. The order was established in the United States in 1840 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by eight sisters who volunteered to immigrate.12

Key figures in the order's American expansion include Sister Louise Van der Schrieck, who became superior in 1845 and oversaw the growth of institutions across the Midwest and East, and Sister Julia McGroarty, the first American superior, who significantly increased the scope and quality of Catholic education in the United States. Under their leadership, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur established numerous academies, elementary schools, and even founded Trinity College in Washington, D.C..23

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Sister Julia McGroarty
…first American superior in the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, whose efforts increased the scope and quality of Roman Catholic education in the United States.
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…first American superior in the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, whose efforts increased the scope and quality of Roman Catholic education in the United States.
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Sister Louise Van der Schrieck
…Catholic leader under whom the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and their associated educational institutions were established across the American Midwest and East.
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…Catholic leader under whom the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and their associated educational institutions were established across the American Midwest and East.
Read More