The Legislative Assembly of the State pays Tribute to the Sisters of Notre Dame
On June 19, 2013, the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul honored the Sisters of Notre Dame for their 90 years of presence and service in Brazil, highlighting Notre Dame School in Passo Fundo as a center of culture and evangelization during those 90 years. A large group of sisters and lay collaborators attended the event, including Sister M. Lori Steffen (Provincial Superior) and Sr. M. Ivanes Fillippin (Principal of Notre Dame School in Passo Fundo).
State Representative Gilmar Sossella emphasized education, health care, social care and evangelization as the focus areas of the SNDs apostolate. He also recalled, “that kindness, good humor, deep affection, professional competence, seriousness in studies, discipline as a requirement for learning, familiarity in relationships, respect for each student´s pace of learning and a permanent smile are characteristics of the Spiritual Mother Saint Julie Billiart’s personality, perpetuated by her followers, the Sisters of Notre Dame.”
The past 90 years have been dedicated to improving the lives of Brazilian people, especially those in need of love, care and guidance. “Certainly, it was God´s plan, counting on Saint Julie Billiart’s help, to bring us this special blessing to welcome the SND missionaries to our land and see them establishing their strong national roots here,” declared the Representative.
In his address, he also pointed out that “a great virtue of the Sisters of Notre Dame is the ability to face new challenges and to develop new strategies for new times, following the advancement of education so that young people inherit strong values to be able to face the demands of life and to pursue entrepreneurship with ethics and responsibility”.
The sisters had provided a statue of Saint Julie that was positioned in front of the assembly. At the end of his talk, the State Representative invited the whole assembly to pray loudly to Saint Julie. He also kept the statue for his office.
The Sisters of Notre Dame are missioned to incarnate the love of our good and provident God!
by Dreamhost