[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 15, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING 175 YEARS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR IN 
                               CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SAM T. LICCARDO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 15, 2026

  Mr. LICCARDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise along with my colleagues, 
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Congressman Kevin Mullin, to honor the 
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, an International Apostolic Congregation 
of Catholic Sisters, on the historic occasion of their 175th 
anniversary. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur believed that educating 
young women could transform the world. Modern development economics has 
confirmed their guiding intuition: the very nations that most rapidly 
accelerate living standards have focused on widening access of women to 
education and careers. Their vision and network of schools now stretch 
across continents, generations, and countless lives--continuing to 
empower women and girls.
  Born out of revolution-torn France in 1804, two women, Julie Billiart 
and Francoise Blin de Bourdon, founded the Sisters of Notre Dame de 
Namur to provide schools for girls in what we now know as Belgium. 
Julie's guiding spirit reflected a simple and bold vision: ``Hearts as 
wide as the world.'' She believed in a God whose goodness knew no 
limits. Their congregation of sisters grew, as did the reach of their 
schools.
  In 1843, Jesuit Father De Smet invited the Sisters of Notre Dame de 
Namur to the Pacific Frontier to open schools and orphanages for the 
Clatsop Native Americans. While Julie and Francoise never saw America, 
six of the Notre Dame Sisters boarded the Indefatigable ship in 
Belgium, endured a months-long voyage to Astoria, Oregon, and carried 
out their vision of serving children in need.
  In 1848, many families uprooted themselves to seek fortune in the 
California Gold Rush. Then, in 1850, typhoid swept the region, and the 
Sisters assumed nursing duties, caring especially for the orphans left 
in its wake. The following year, two Sisters traveled from Oregon to 
San Francisco to welcome four new members of their congregation from 
Belgium. Archbishop Joseph Alemany, O.P., saw that these women could 
provide what California needed and asked them to open schools in San 
Jose.
  With faith as their guide, they purchased property in San Jose and 
built a school from salvaged structures: a frame house for living, an 
adobe classroom, and a barn transformed into a kitchen. On August 4, 
1851, Notre Dame College opened on Santa Clara Street, offering day, 
boarding and college programs to girls of every background--Mexican, 
Irish, French Canadian and Native American. The Sisters lived simply, 
raised vegetables, kept a cow, stretched every dollar, learned Spanish, 
and expanded opportunity when education for girls remained far from 
guaranteed.
  True to Julie's spirit, no child was turned away. The school grew, 
the curriculum evolved, and in 1868 it was chartered as the College of 
Notre Dame--the first college for women in California, which many 
celebrated as ``the best school for young women in the West.'' In 1923, 
the college moved to the Ralston Mansion in Belmont. Originally founded 
as a women's institution, the college became coeducational in 1969 and 
now operates as Notre Dame de Namur University.
  In 1928, Notre Dame High School, San Jose, moved from the Santa Clara 
Street campus to its present location at Second and Reed Streets. Over 
the following decades, Notre Dame opened schools across California--in 
Marysville, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Alameda, Redwood City, 
Petaluma, Carmel and Watsonville--and eventually expanded into Oregon, 
Washington and Hawaii.
  Saint Julie prayed that her Sisters would spread their vision 
throughout the world. Today, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, U.S. 
East-West Province, sponsor or co-sponsor 19 ministries across the 
United States. The Congregation has a global presence, serving on five 
continents, in 16 countries, and across 23 U.S. states and the District 
of Columbia.
  One hundred seventy-five years after those first fragile beginnings 
in San Jose, California, Saint Julie's prayer has come to fruition, and 
her vision continues to guide their work. I ask my colleagues to join 
me in celebrating this monumental anniversary and commemorating the 
legacy of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in California.

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