Congregation of Holy Cross celebrates its 175th birthday | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Congregation of Holy Cross celebrates its 175th birthday Congregation of Holy Cross celebrates its 175th birthday Published: February 28, 2012 Author: Michael O. Garvey The Congregation of Holy Cross, the international Catholic religious order whose members founded the University of Notre Dame, celebrates its 175th birthday March 1. The Congregation was established in France on that day in 1837, when Blessed Rev. Basil Moreau, C.S.C., and six other priests of the diocese of Le Mans joined with 54 Brothers of St. Joseph, a religious community founded by Father Jacques Dujarie, the pastor of a rural parish in the diocese, to form a single community of priests and brothers. They were later joined by a community of sisters, the Marionites of Holy Cross. Father Moreau’s community was named Congregatio a Sancta Cruce (Congregation of Holy Cross) after Sainte-Croix, a small town nearby Le Mans, which was its first home. That local name, “Holy Cross,” resonated deeply in the spirituality that animated the newly formed community and continues to be expressed in its paradoxical motto: “Spes Crux Unica” (The Cross, Our Only Hope). The new community had its work cut for it in the Catholic parishes and parochial schools of a rural France still bruised and reeling from the Revolution, but Father Moreau soon sent missionaries overseas, to Algeria, Canada and Bengal. He also sent seven young members of the Congregation — six brothers and Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C. — to the Indiana frontier in the United States, where, in 1842, they founded the University of Notre Dame. “Our mission of making God known, loved and served in our education, parish and mission settings is the same today as the day we were founded,” said Rev. David T. Tyson, provincial superior of the Congregation’s U.S. Province. “Serving God’s people in the 21st century and beyond means as ‘men with hope to bring’ that we remain committed as vowed religious to giving witness to God’s mission, forming His citizens and building His Kingdom.” Today there are some 1,200 Holy Cross religious working in 16 countries and on five continents. Headquartered in Notre Dame, Ind., the United States Province of the Congregation includes 500 priests, brothers and seminarians. In addition to their teaching and ministry at Notre Dame, the University of Portland, King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., they serve 13 Catholic parishes in the United States and two in Mexico. Other Holy Cross ministries include André House in Phoenix and the Saint André Bessette Catholic Church in Portland, Ore., both of which serve the homeless and the working poor. Contact: Lucha Ramey, 574-631-1359, lramey@holycrossusa.org Posted In: Faith Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 03, 2022 dCEC to Award 2023 ND Evangelium Vitae Medal to Robert P. George September 22, 2022 In memoriam: Rev. Richard Warner, C.S.C., longtime leader for Notre Dame, Congregation of Holy Cross September 15, 2022 In new book on global Catholicism, Provost John McGreevy explores modern history, current challenges of the Church September 15, 2022 Death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Notre Dame September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn