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and Andenncs, 1813; Flounis, 1S14; and all arrange-
ments for Liege and Dinant, though the communities
took possession of these convents only after 1816.
Mother St. Joseph Blin de Bourdon, the co-foun- dress, was elected superior-general in succession to Blessed Mother Julie. During her generalate the in- stitute passed through the most critical period of its existence, owing to the persecutions of religious orders by William of Orange-Nassau, King of the Nether- lands. To compel them to remain in statu quo, to hold diplomas obtained only after rigid examina- tions in Dutch and French by state officials, to furnish almost endless accounts and writings regarding con- vents, schools, finances, and subjects, were some of the measures adopted to harass and destroy all teaching orders; but Mother St. Joseph's tact, clear-sightedness, and zeal for souls saved the institute. During his tour in 1829, King William visited the establishment at Namur and was so pleased that he created the mother- general a Dutch subject. The Revolution of 1830 and the assumption of the crown of Belgium by Leopold of Saxe-Gotha put an end to the petty persecutions of religious. Mother St. Joseph founded houses at Thuin, 1817; Namur Orphanage, 1823; Hospital St. Jacques, 1823; Verviers, 1827; Hospital d'Harscamp and Bastogne, 1836, the latter having been for the past thirty years a state normal school; Philippeville, 1837. The most important work of her generalate was the compiling and collating of the present Rules and Constitution of the Sisters of Notre Dame. She has left an explanation of the rule; the particular rule of each office ; the Directory and Customs. She had preserved a faithful record of all that Mother Julie had said or written on these points; hence the will of the foundress is carried out in the smallest de- tails of daily life, and the communities are alike every- where. Moreover, she drew up the system of school management which has been followed ever since, with only such modification of curricula and discipline as time, place, and experience have rendered indispen- sable. This system of instruction is based upon that of St. John Baptist de La Salle, and may be read broadly in the Management of Christian Schools," issued by the Christian Brothers. The points of uni- formity in the primary and secondary schools of all countries are chiefly: the emphasis laid upon thorough grounding in reading, writing, and arithmetic, gram- mar and composition, geography, and history; the half hour's instruction daily in Christian doctrine; the half-hourly change of exercise; the use of the signal or wooden clapper in giving directions for movements in class; the constant presence of the teacher with her class whether in the class-room or recreation ground; the preparation of lessons at home, or at least out of class hours. Vocal and chart music, drawing and needlework are taught in all the schools. No masters from outside may give lessons to the pupils in any of the arts or sciences.
Mother St. Joseph was twice re-elected superior- general, the term being at first fixed at ten years. To give greater stability to the government of the insti- tute, a general chapter was convoked which should settle by ballot the question of life-tenure of the of- fice of sujierior-general. The assembly unanimously voted in the affirmative. In 1819 a foundation was asked for Holland by Rev. F. Wolf, S.J., but, on account of political difficulties. Mother St. Joseph could not grant it. She offered, instead, to train aspirants to the religious life. Accordingly, two came to Namur, passed their probation, made their vows, and returned to labour in their own country. This is the origin of the congregation of Sisters of Notre Dame, whose mother-house is at Coesfield, and who have large schools in Cleveland, Covington, and other cities of the- Middle West. Though not affiliated to } Notre Dame of Namur, they follow the same rule and regard Blessed Mother Julie as their foundress. XL— 9
Mother St. Joseph died on 9 February, 1838, in the
eighty-third year of her age and the twenty-third of
her generalate. The preliminary process of her beati-
fication is well advanced.
The third superior-general was Mother Ignatius (Th^ rese-Josephine Goethals, b. 1800; d. 1842). Her ser- vices during the persecution under King William were invaluable. Excessive toil, however, told upon her later, and she died in the fourth year of her generalate; but not before she had sent the first colony of sisters to America.
She was succeeded by Mother Marie Therese, who, on account of ill-health, resigned her office the fol- lowing year and Mother Constantine (Marie-Jeanne- Joseph-Colfin, b. 1802, d. 187.5) was elected. She ruled the institute for thirty-three years, her term of office being marked by the papal approbation of the Rule in 1844, the first mission to England in 184.5, to California in 1851, to Guatemala in 1859. LTnder Mother Aloysie (Th^rese-Jo.seph Mainy, b. 1817, d. 1888), fifth superior-general, the processes for the canonization of Mother Julie and Mother St. Joseph were begun in 1881; twenty houses of the institute were established in Belgium, England, and America. Under her successor. Mother Aimee de Jesus (Elodie DuUaert, b. 1825, d. 1907), the Sisters of Notre Dame, at the request of Leopold II of Belgium, took charge of the girls' schools in the Jesuit missions of the Congo Free State, where three houses were established. She also sent from England a community of eight sisiters for the girls' schools in the Jesuit mission of Zambesi, Mashonaland. An academy and free school were opened later at Kronstadt, Orange River Colony, South Africa. Mother Aimde de Jesus was created by the King of Belgium a Knight of the Order of Leopold, and Sister Ignatia was accgrded a similar honour after fourteen years of labour in the Congo. During this gen- eralate Mother Julie Billiart was solemnly beatified by Pius X, 13 May, 1906. The present Superior-general, Mother Marie Aloysie, was elected in January, 1908.
The first foundation in America was made at Cin- cmnati, Ohio, at the request of the Right Reverend John B. Purcell, then Bishop and later the first Arch- bishop of Cincinnati. Sister Loui.se de Gonzague was appointed superior of the eight sisters who came here for this purpose. After firmly establishing the insti- tute in America, failing health caused her recall to Namur, where she worked until her death in 1866. Upon Sister Louise, another of the original group, de- volved in 1845 the charges of superiority not only of the house of Cincinnati, but also of the others then founded or to be founded east of the Rocky Mountains. Every year the sisters were asked for in some part of the country and the mother-house of Namur gave generously of subjects and funds until the convents in America were able to supply their own needs.
The two provincials who have followed Sister Louise continued the work along the lines she had traced out. Sister Julie (b. 1827, d. 1901) founded fifteen houses, including Trinity College, Washington, D. C, and a provincial house and novitiate at Cincin- nati, Ohio. Sister Agnes Mary (b. IS 10. d. I'llDi niade three foundations and built the first cliainl dcdnated to Blessed Mother Julie in America, a beautiful Liuthic structure in stone, at Moylan, Pennsylvania.
In 1846 a colony of eight sisters left Namur under the care of Right Reverend F. N. Blanchet and Father de Smet, S.J., to labour among the Indians of the Oregon mission. Five years later these sisters, at the request of the Right Reverend J. S. Alemany, Bishop of San Francisco, were transferred to San Jos6, California. The first establishment on the Pacific Coast was followed in course of time by ten others, which formed a separate province from Cincinnati. For thirty years it was under the wise care of Sister Marie Comehe.
