An international congregation with our mother house in Rome, we are located on six continents and are divided into geographic units called provinces, four of which are in the United States.  Our Toledo Province consists of approximately 250 sisters who are missioned to serve in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, New Mexico, California, New York, Louisiana and Papua New Guinea, where we celebrate a 45-year presence!  Internationally, we are about 2,400 sisters located in the United States, Brazil, England, Italy, Holland, Germany, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, South Korea, India, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and the Philippines.

(right) More than 80 Sisters of Notre Dame pose for a group photo while attending the Notre Dame International Education Conference held in Canoas, Brazil in January, 2007.

United States ministries

The Sisters of Notre Dame, Toledo Province minister throughout the U. S. From an inner city catholic school in Jacksonville, Florida to spiritual direction at Sangre de Cristo Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Sisters are called to serve in many areas.

Papua New Guinea Mission

Five Sisters of Notre Dame from the Toledo Province serve as missionaries in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the second largest island in the world, located in the Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Currently, 12 Papua New Guineans are serving the church as professed Sisters of Notre Dame in PNG.  There are eight indigenous women presently in initial formation, two as novices and six as postulants.

The Sisters have been leaders in education since their arrival in PNG in 1961. They minister among the babies, youth and adults in many areas such as:

• Notre Dame Secondary School educates 600 girls today, grades 9-12. More than 4,000 young women have gone through Notre Dame Secondary school since its opening in 1969.
• Maria Kwin Resource Center offers adult learning courses in Scripture, agriculture, cooking, sewing and health care.
• Shalom House is a respite center where Sisters of Notre Dame help women and men with AIDS.
• House of Formation is for National Sisters considering religious life – a significant sign of hope for the life of the church in PNG.

Interested in helping the Sisters of Notre Dame minister in this developing country? Your support can impact the lives of students; help people become self sufficient, and support individuals and families affected by AIDS. Simply click here for the Partnership for Mission donation page .