SSND Presence in Quincy, Illinois
By Sister Carol Marie Wildt, SSND
The School Sisters of Notre Dame celebrated a special liturgy commemorating their 150 years of ministry in Quincy, Ill., on Sunday, November 1, 2009 at St. Francis Solanus Catholic Church, 1721 College Avenue, Quincy, Illinois. Rev. Msgr. Michael Kruse celebrated the Mass and more than 40 School Sisters of Notre Dame were in attendance.
Quincy Mayor John Spring presented a proclamation to honor the sisters’ history in Quincy and proclaimed 2009/2010 as the School Sisters of Notre Dame Sesquicentennial.
The sisters sang the song, God’s Cause, written by David Haas based on the words of Blessed Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger, foundress of the SSND congregation. Sister Joan Markus, SSND, provincial leader of the St. Louis Province of School Sisters of Notre Dame, shared a reflection, and the sisters renewed their vows.
A reception followed the liturgy giving the visiting sisters and their former students an opportunity to reconnect.
150 Years in Quincy
In 1833, the foundational year for the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the first Mass was said in the city of Quincy, Ill. This was the beginning of St. Boniface, the oldest German Catholic parish in northwestern Illinois and the foundational parish for an orphanage and a number of other parishes in the city.
On the feast of All Saints, November 1, 1859, Mother Caroline Friess, a School Sister of Notre Dame originally from Bavaria, arrived in Quincy via steamboat. At the urgent request of Bishop Juncker of Alton, she decided to survey the situation and consider the possibility of sending sisters to teach the children.
The news of her arrival spread quickly among the German population. Upon leaving the church the next morning, she was greeted with a guard of honor and the ardent plea of the people, “Give us teachers for our children! Send us Sisters-soon! soon!” [Letter #28]
Within a few weeks, a school/convent was ready for the sisters. On December 27, 1859, two sisters and a candidate arrived to teach the 400 students. SSNDs would teach at St. Boniface for the next 119 years.
Two years later, the people pleaded for further opportunities for the older girls. In 1861, a music and a needlework teacher were sent by Mother Caroline. The Select School for Girls [1861-1867] became the nucleus for St. Mary Institute/Academy [1867-1924], Notre Dame of Quincy [1924-1940], Notre Dame High School [1940-1976], Quincy Notre Dame High School [1976-present].
This mission house would serve as a center for the sisters in Quincy. In the pioneer days, many sisters lived here and taught in the parish schools until a convent was provided for them by the individual parish.
The prestigious institution would be noted for its excellence in music as well as its well- rounded curriculum. The sisters taught elementary and secondary students and cared for boarders. In 1924, Bishop James Griffin recommended that the sisters focus on educating secondary students and the elementary children attend their own parish schools. From 1940-1959, the school became co-educational due to the close of the Franciscan boys’ school until the opening of the Christian Brothers High School.
As St. Mary Institute expanded, it became a center for retreats for sisters in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. It also was a place for continuing education classes for the sisters in the summer. Sisters were welcomed for rest, to recuperate or for some days of vacation. The mission was a place for spiritual and physical renewal as it provided an atmosphere of encouragement and mutual support among the sisters.
Requests for sisters continued to be presented to the leadership of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. SSNDs were sent to minister at St. Peter, originally St. Lawrence O’Toole [1861-1921; 2005-present]; St. Aloysius Orphanage [1865-1945]; St. Francis Solanus [1866-1996]; St. Joseph for Negro Children [1878-1889]; St. Anthony [1884-1996]; St. Rose [1893-1919]; St. John the Baptist [1990-1999]; All Saints [1999-2005] and a variety of other locations within the city.
The early pioneers experienced great poverty and many hardships but the education of the children was uppermost in their lives as they strove to build a solid foundation for years to come. They ministered to children of all ethnic groups, including the establishment of a school for African-American children. Dedicated lay teachers collaborated with the sisters in their enterprise of educating the student to his/her full potential. They suffered with the relatives and friends of the children who died or were severely burned in the fire at St. Francis Solanus. Thousands of children came under the influence of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in the city on the bluffs. Without the generosity and support of the people of Quincy, the SSNDs would not have been able to purchase property, expand buildings and experience growth in the pioneering days of their ministry in the city.
During the past 150 years, more than 100 young women from Quincy have entered the School Sisters of Notre Dame. During these years, more than 1,040 SSNDs have served as principals and teachers within the various schools and in a variety of parish ministries and outreach within Quincy.
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