Honoring Our Immigrant Heritage

June is National Immigrant Heritage Month, a time to honor the courage, sacrifice, and hope of those who journeyed to a new land seeking opportunity, purpose, and a better future for generations to come. For the Notre Dame Sisters, we remember the arrival of five young Sisters who immigrated from Horazdovice, Czechoslovakia, to the United States in 1910, carrying with them a deep faith and a commitment to serve others.

In May of 1910, five young Notre Dame Sisters arrived in New York Harbor from Horazdovice, Czechoslovakia after crossing the Atlantic aboard the Grosser Kurfurst. Led by Venerable Mother M. Qualberta Krivanec, they came with little more than their faith, trust in God, and a mission to serve.

From New York, the Sisters traveled to Missouri, where they were entrusted with the care and education of children at the Hessoun Orphan Home in Fenton. What began as a journey of five women would become generations of ministry, education, compassion, and service throughout the United States.

Had these Sisters never made that journey in 1910, countless lives would have been different. Schools would never have opened. Children would never have received the education, care, and spiritual guidance they did. Families would not have found support in times of hardship. Ministries serving aging adults, immigrants, survivors of domestic violence, and those on the margins would never have taken root in the same way.

Their story reminds us that immigrants do not simply arrive in a country, but rather they help shape it. They build communities, preserve culture and faith, care for those in need, and leave lasting legacies that extend far beyond their own generation.

More than 100 years later, the mission of the Notre Dame Sisters continues because five women answered a call with courage. During National Immigrant Heritage Month, we give thanks for their journey, their sacrifices, and the impact their presence continues to have today.

Read more about the Notre Dame Sisters’ History: https://notredamesisters.org/academy-history/