Our Patron Saint

St. Julie Billiart, born in France 1751, was the sixth out of seven children for her pious family.  From a young age, St. Julie was fascinated with her religious lessons in school, and devoted herself early on to prayer and chastity.  At the age of 22, St. Julie became paralyzed and devoted much of her time to prayer, making altar linens for the local Church, preparing young children for the Catechism.

During the French Revolution, St. Julie helped to hide priests within her home and save them from persecution.  During this time, she received a vision of the Lord being crucified and being surrounded by religious women.  Due to this vision, St. Julie felt impelled to create an institution that educated young girls.

In 1803, the foundation for the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur was founded.  The Sisters’ primary focus was for the salvation of poor children, but also worked for providing girls with a Christian education and trained religious teachers.On April 8, 1816, St. Julie died peacefully.  She was beatified in May 1906, and later canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1969.