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Publications on the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Finding Aid: Collection Overview

Title: Publications on the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

Date(s): 1909, 1926-1931, 1966

Repository I.D.: US: MBEmm: SND-2014-2

Collection Call No.: SND-2014-2

Author(s)/Creator(s)/Collector(s):
James, Clare, Father (editor)
Helen Louise, Sister (author)
Anthony of the Sacred Heart, Sister (author)
Mary Patricia, Sister (author)
Mary of the Holy Angels, Sister (author)
Emmanuel College (Boston, Mass.) (collector)

Location: Emmanuel Archives, Cardinal Cushing Library 202

Extent: 1.15 linear feet (6 boxes/ 6 items)

Language(s): Material is in English.

Abstract: This collection contains a series of books written about and by members of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur from the 20th century. 

Access Restrictions: 1) The collection is not restricted. 2) Most books in this collection are still under copyright. 3) Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the College Archivist.

Preferred Citation: [Item Title]. [Box Number]. Publications on the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Cardinal Cushing Library, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA.

Provenance: The books in this collection were transferred to the Archives from the circulating collection and the Rare Book Room of the Emmanuel College Library to provide greater access and preservation to the materials in February 2014.

Processed By: Processed by John P. Healey, Jr. in November 2014 to December 2014.

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Biography/History:

Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

St. Julie Billiart founded the Sisters of Notre Dame with the aid of Françoise Blin de Bourdon in 1804. Motivated by the desire "to make known God's goodness," St. Julie established a Catholic religious congregation that today serves on five continents - Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. From the beginning, St. Julie and Françoise were convinced of education's power to help individuals to lead lives of freedom and human dignity. Their passion for teaching and learning is enshrined in the constitution of the Sisters of Notre Dame, which describes education as "fundamental to bringing about the reign of God."

Many of the principles St. Julie and Françoise established for the Sisters of Notre Dame more than 200 years ago still characterize the Congregation to this day: a passion for education as "the greatest work on earth," a commitment to the poor, a global apostolic mission, a life that balances prayer and action, a focus on community building, and an abiding and deeply rooted trust in the goodness of God.
The first Sisters to come to America settled in Cincinnati in 1840. Nine years later, members of the Congregation came to Boston, where they taught at St. Mary School in the North End. From there, they established schools in Cambridge and Somerville and in mill towns such as Lynn, Lowell, Lawrence, Chicopee and Springfield.

Authors and Editors

Fr. James Clare was a member of the Society of Jesus who was born on June 25, 1827 at St. Helen’s Lancashire, England. He entered the English Province of the Society of Jesus on September 7, 1844 and took his final vows on February 2, 1864 and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from London University in 1849. Fr. Clare spent his professional life as a teacher, scholar, preacher and author of the treatise The Science of the Spiritual Life that discussed the Jesuit religious life and St. Ignatius. Fr. James Clare died on May 24, 1902 at St. Beuno’s in Wales.    

Sr. Anthony of the Sacred Heart, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, was born Sara Alice Quinlan in 1872 to Maurice J. and Kate E. (McGinnis) Quinlan and grew up in Oakland California where she was educated by the Sisters of the Holy Names at Saint Francis de Sales School. Sr. Anthony of the Sacred Heart, SND entered the novitiate in 1892 and spent her professional life as a teacher and administrator at the high school and college levels. She died on January 25, 1933 in Belmont, California.

Sr. Helen Louise, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, was born Marie (or Mary Francis) Nugent on October 30, 1870 in Cincinnati, Ohio to James and Charlotte (Hopperton) Nugent. Sr. Helen Louise, SND entered the novitiate on August 23, 1891 in Cincinnati, Ohio and earned her doctorate in 1931 from Catholic University. Sr. Helen Louise spent her professional life as a teacher and administrator at the high school and college levels. She died on June 29, 1944 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sr. Mary Patricia, SND, was born Helen Butler on November 20, 1859 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Patrick and Mary (Kirwin) Butler. Sr. Mary Patricia joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1882 and began teaching English at Trinity College in Washington, D.C. in 1902. However, due to increasing deafness, she later became the College librarian and was responsible for increasing the College library’s collection. In the 1920s she was the author of at least two books An Historical Sketch of Trinity College, 1897-1925 (published in 1925) and The American Foundations of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (published in 1928). Sr. Mary Patricia, SND died on April 10, 1941.

Sr. Mary of the Holy Angels, SND, was born Maragret Patricia Linscott on June 9, 1919 to Jesse and Angela Linscott in Lancashire, England. She studied modern languages at the University of Liverpool and trained to teach with the Sisters of Notre Dame before entering the order in 1945. Sr. Mary of the Holy Angels, SND continued her academic studies and earned a Master's of Arts in Education from Liverpool University and a PhD in Religious Studies from the Catholic University of America. The in 1969, she was elected the fourteenth Superior General of tthe Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, a post she held until 1978. After stepping down as the Sperior General of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Sr. Mary of the Holy Angels, SND was appointed head of the Office for Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes. Sr. Mary of Holy Angels, SND died on June 14, 1999 in Liverpool, England at the age of eighty.

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Scope and Content: The collection contains six (6) books that cover the people and events surrounding the establishment and works of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and its establishment and works in the United States. The books were written by members of the Congregation in the 20th century.

Collection Arrangement: The collection is arranged into one (1) series of published books order chronologically by publication date and then alphabetically by the author’s name.