Congregation of Notre Dame de Namur
Congregation of Notre Dame de Namur
Founded, 1803 , at Amiens , France , by Blessed Julie Billiart and Marie Lourse Franoise Blin de Bourdon, for the education of youth, and the training of religious teachers. The community lived first under a provisional rule, based upon that of Saint Ignatius, drawn up by Mother Julie and Father Joseph Varin, S.J. This was officially approved in 1807 . The congregation has 145 houses, 3 orphanages, and 215 schools (including Trinity College, Washington, DC, and Saint Mary’s Hall, Liverpool) in Belgium , England , Scotland, the United States, the Belgian Congo , Orange Free State, Japan, and China . The mother-house is at Namur; the total number of religious is 4,000.