On July 4, 1885, our Foundress, Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd and eleven Sisters arrived in the U.S. and quickly set to work helping Polish immigrant children and families in Chicago. The Congregation experienced phenomenal early growth. Within two months of their arrival, these first sisters were staffing two schools and an orphanage.
Soon we had expanded services to God’s people in the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast regions of the country. Eventually, we expanded into 20 states and Puerto Rico, with hundreds of sisters serving families in schools, health care and child care services, care of the elderly, retreat work, along with parish, prison, and youth ministry.
Today, we have almost 200 sisters in six states who are continuing the mission of Jesus through the traditions of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth!
Join with us in prayers of thanksgiving for the sisters who led the way in creating communities of love and hope which celebrate the oneness of the human family.
Let us remember our first sisters who arrived in New York City on July 4, 1885, then boarded a train, arriving in Chicago on July 6, 1885:
