University of Notre DameThe Congregation of Holy Cross
The Holy Cross priests and brothers who live and serve at Notre Dame represent the cornerstone of the University’s unique Catholic character and spirit. Today’s Holy Cross community is a spiritual descendant of the Congregatio a Sancta Cruce (C.S.C.), which was founded in the French countryside in the early 1800s by Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau.
Following the beatification of Rev. Moreau in 2007, the Notre Dame community has established an annual series of events—“Holy Cross: Faith in Our Future”–clustered around his feast day of January 20. This helps us remember, appreciate, and study the connection we feel to the Congregation of Holy Cross, to its founder, and to the faith and work of the Catholic Church around the world.
The Notre Dame community also joins in celebrating the news that Saint André Bessette, C.S.C. (1845-1937), a beloved brother in the Congregation of Holy Cross in Canada whose life of profound faith, hope, hospitality, and compassion for the poor led to the establishment of St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, was canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church on Oct. 17, 2010.
Mission
It was Rev. Moreau who sent forth a young Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., and several Holy Cross brothers in the early 1840s to establish a school in the wilderness of Indiana. Little could they have imagined the great University that would survive and thrive, nor the vibrant community of dedicated religious who would continue to serve its mission in so many ways. By long-standing tradition, Notre Dame celebrates Sorin and his fellow pioneers on what we call Founder’s Day.
The Congregation’s foundational documents summon its members to be "educators in faith," and they take this calling most seriously, placing it at the heart of their commitment to their community and to the University. In devotion to that mission, these priests are privileged to have so many talented and caring colleagues among the University’s faculty and staff, joining together to apply their talents in so many ways to the education of both the heart and the mind.
Ministry
The priests and brothers of Holy Cross at Notre Dame find many ways in which to be of service to Jesus Christ, Our Lady, and the human race, to whom the Catholic Church has been called to minister. Throughout the year, members of the Holy Cross community celebrate Mass numerous times each day—in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart as well as in the smaller chapels of academic buildings and residence halls, inviting students, staff, and faculty alike to participate in this daily renewal of faith. Notre Dame’s abundant sacramental life creates opportunities for worship, reconciliation, and prayer. The heavenly patrons selected for his Holy Cross family by Blessed Basil Moreau were the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mary under the title of Our Lady of Sorrows, and Saint Joseph.
Holy Cross religious teach and collaborate in the University’s broad and deep intellectual life, and they serve the campus in a wide range of ways. The University’s President is, by statute, a Holy Cross priest. The Holy Cross ministry also extends to residence halls, where a number of priests, brothers, and sisters serve as rectors and chaplains in residence. Members of the Congregation serve in Campus Ministry, along with a staff of dedicated lay people, to offer a diverse array of responses to the spiritual needs that arise among students of all backgrounds and faiths.
Community
The community of Holy Cross priests and brothers at Notre Dame is a large population of individual thinkers, unique talents, different perspectives, and deeply personal spiritualities. The Notre Dame community started out as a band of pioneers who displayed both independence and cooperation as they literally built a university from the ground up. Holy Cross members still strive today to embrace both of these qualities as they seek to fulfill the mission of Holy Cross and this University with the zeal exemplified by Blessed Basil Moreau.
The instinct to be part of a “big family” also extends to the whole Congregation of Holy Cross, whose members can be found in a variety of apostolates around the world—in Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Ghana, Haiti, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Tanzania, and Uganda, as well as in the United States. New members of the Indiana province are joyfully welcomed into life in Holy Cross and offered guidance and encouragement to explore a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life.