It Started with Sorin

This month marks the 200th birthday of Father Edward Sorin, C.S.C., the infamous founder of the University of Notre Dame, which was to become, in his words, “one of the most powerful forces for doing good in this country.”

On Nov. 26 ,1842, amidst a fierce winter (one to rival our current,) Father Sorin and his small band of six Brothers of St. Joseph (the group of consecrated religious within the Congregation of Holy Cross) first set foot on the ground that would become the site of the University. A series of similarly harsh winters, tremendous financial woes, and a devastating fire that destroyed the group’s initial progress tested their resolve and forced them to put all their faith in the Holy Mother to bring their mission to fruition despite the significant setbacks.

When the 1879 fire destroyed the Main Building upon which a statue of Our Lady had been erected, Father Sorin, with unrelenting hope, believed it was a sign from the patroness that he had simply not dreamed or built big enough. And he and his brothers regrouped and rebuilt, designing and erecting the famous Golden Dome we know today.

Though Father Sorin had always envisioned Notre Dame as developing into a preeminent university--not just a seminary or just a college--among its first few students and residents, Notre Dame also took on the education of the children in the area who had nowhere else to go. In it’s first few years, therefore, Notre Dame also operated as an orphanage.

The Sisters of Charity had run orphanages in the community for years prior to the arrival of the Holy Cross priests, but, similarly facing limited resources, could only house the children until the ages of 12 or 13. The Brothers of St. Joseph saw this need in the community, and took up the mission of housing and educating those children.

With his grand vision for an American university “founded on Catholic principles,” Father Sorin and his brothers knew that the continuation of their vision relied on the fortitudinous efforts of devoted and devout Catholic educators.

In 1860, Fr. Sorin made an appeal for such teachers: “How much the training of Catholic youth is suffering for want of good teachers is a well known fact. In spite of earnest efforts, only partial success has been achieved in removing this crying evil. Although besieged daily with requests, it is impossible for us to satisfy even the smallest part of the urgent appeal.” Father Sorin acutely felt the need for good teachers, and saw that the success of both Notre Dame and American Catholic education at large depended on their abundance and perpetuation.

The University of Notre Dame owes its success to its accomplished, dedicated faculty and relies on their perpetuation going forward to continue to be the “force for good in this country” Father Sorin envisioned.

The continued success of Catholic education in America similarly relies on an abundance of well-trained and dedicated faculty, and the Alliance for Catholic Education, housed in Father Sorin’s vision and mission, is dedicated to filling that need through its numerous programs designed to sustain, strengthen and transform Catholic schools in America and beyond.