We invite you to explore our SNJM Collaborative Ministries world. The Sisters of the Holy Names partner and collaborate with many organizations and non-profits who further the “full development of the human person”. This collaboration may take the form of direct service, sponsorship, board membership or financial support.
This map with hearts placed on it by the SNJM leadership teams was the inspiration for sharing our SNJM collaborative ministries throughout the world via Google maps.
Google Map of Collaborative Ministries
EDUCATION
Academy of the Holy Names — Albany, New York
Established in 1884, the Academy of the Holy Names gives students the opportunity to participate in an academic program featuring flexible scheduling, interdisciplinary courses, service, and technology as well as extracurricular activities including student government, publications and interscholastic sports. While continuing their commitment to tradition, the school, with a middle school division for grades 6-8 and a high school division for grades 9-12, continues to move ahead in new directions.
Academy of the Holy Names — Tampa, Florida
Founded in 1881, the Academy of the Holy Names is a private Catholic school for boys and girls in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade and a college preparatory high school for young women, located on 19 scenic acres along Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, Florida. Sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, this institution is deeply rooted in Catholic values and offers a safe and nurturing environment for academic and personal growth.
African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC)
The mission of African Sisters Education Collaborative, or ASEC (AYE-sek), is to educate Catholic women religious in Africa to strengthen their leadership capacity to provide services that address local and global challenges.
Centro Social Madre Maria Rosa – Associação Rosa do Nordeste, Brazil
The Centro Social Madre Maria Rosa serves the community by offering educational and recreational programs for children and adolescents (7-14 years old), artisanry classes, and adult literacy initiatives. The center’s mission is to empower those in vulnerable situations through comprehensive development, active solidarity, and advocacy aimed at transforming unjust systems to ensure human dignity.
Collège Durocher Saint-Lambert, Québec
Founded in 1910 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, Collège Durocher Saint-Lambert is a non-profit organization (NPO) that offers a complete secondary education in French to both girls and boys. The College’s goal is to provide a fulfilling educational experience that inspires and engages each student to become a lifelong learner.
École de musique Vincent-d’Indy, Québec
Founded over a century ago by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, the École de musique Vincent-d’Indy (EMVI) offers high-level musical education to students of all ages, united by a common passion: music! This passion flourishes within the various sectors of the institution, namely the College Sector, Music for All, Primary Music-Studies, and Secondary Music-Studies. It is also nurtured by a vast network of affiliated teachers, all committed to the implementation of the School’s artistic training program.
Externat Mont-Jésus-Marie, Québec
Founded in 1925, Externat Mont-Jésus-Marie, a private co-educational preschool and elementary school, is inspired by the teaching tradition of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and remains proud of its roots. The Externat’s mission is to educate young people who will know how to think justly, speak truthfully, and act rightly; responsible and autonomous citizens who contribute positively to today’s society and will shape that of tomorrow.
Holy Names Academy, Seattle
Holy Names Academy is the oldest continually operating high school in the State of Washington. It is an all-girls Catholic high school founded in 1880 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The school offers excellent academic, arts, athletic, spiritual, and leadership programs that promote the development of the whole person in an environment of inclusion, collaboration, and community.
Holy Names Educational Ministries
The U.S. Ontario Province has created a separate corporation for the sponsorship of our six high schools, Music Center, and Next Step Learning Center. These ministries educate thousands of students each year and require the support and participation of hundreds of lay partners as board members, ministry leaders, faculty, and staff.
Financial support is given to individual institutions by the U.S. Ontario Province. The Province also funds the operating expenses for the newly created Holy Names Educational Ministry (HNEM) Corporation.
Holy Names High School — Bela-Bela, Lesotho
The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) of Lesotho created this high school with the deep conviction that every human being should have access to knowledge.
The team of teachers pays particular attention to coaching by learning discipline and meeting deadlines, for example. The curriculum is designed to promote learning of important and useful subjects for all students to help them become autonomous, responsible and active adults in society.
Holy Names High School, Oakland
Established in 1868, Holy Names High School, a small Catholic school for young women, provides an academically challenging college preparatory education in a vibrant learning environment. Its diverse community nurtures spirituality, encourages artistic expression, and promotes justice, preparing the next generation for leadership and service.
Holy Names Music Center — Spokane, Seattle
Established in 1982, Holy Names Music Center is a non-profit community music school offering comprehensive, personalized music lessons on a variety of instruments, designed for music enthusiasts of all ages, in Spokane, Washington. In-person lessons are offered in Spokane and remote lessons are offered globally.
Inter-Congregational Winter School, Lesotho
Estabished in 1963 by Sister Berchmans Trentecoste SNJM, this is a one week inter-congregational on-going formation workshop for women religious of Lesotho and South Africa. Themes and topicson relgious life vary from year to year. Additionally it provides opportunities to learn about other congregations and to collaborate.
Mabathoana High School, Maseru, Lesotho
Created in 1965 by SNJM sisters, at the request of the Archbishop of Maseru, Emmanuel ‘Mabathoana, this Catholic high school met the needs of the population of Maseru, then in full expansion.
The school offers an academic framework to train young people in all dimensions: social, physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual. The goal is to build a strong, creative, innovative community with a focus on fostering entrepreneurship in the hope of reducing poverty in the country.
Next Step Learning Center — San Francisco, California
Next Step Learning Center offers free education programs for youth and adults living in the Bay Area. Students must be at least 17 years old and be able to speak English at a basic level. There is no upper age-limit for their programs, and they welcome older students as well as youth.
Online English Classes, Brazil
Online English classes are offered to six groups of Brazilian youth, helping them gain better opportunities for further education and employment.
Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie, Québec
Founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in 1905, Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie is a private secondary school for girls. More than 1,300 students thrive there in a dynamic, positive environment that supports each individual’s success. A few boys also attend within the co-ed Music-Studies and Dance-Studies programs.
Ramona Convent Secondary School
Established in 1889, Ramona Convent is a welcoming Catholic college-preparatory high school for young women sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and committed to excellence in education. Ramona’s graduates are empowered, resilient, socially conscious leaders well prepared to meet the challenges of life as contributive members of the global community.
St. Mary’s Academy, Portland
St. Mary’s Academy, sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary since 1859, is a Catholic high school for young women, providing a challenging college-preparatory education in a vibrant learning environment.
Guided by the values and charism of the Sisters, St. Mary’s fosters a diverse community, educates the whole person by nurturing spirituality, encouraging creativity, promoting justice, and inspiring a sense of global interdependence to prepare students for service and leadership.
St. Mary’s Academy — Winnipeg, Manitoba
St. Mary’s Academy is a Catholic school for girls, rooted in the tradition of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. Its mission is to nurture young women in spirit, mind, and body, so that each student reaches her full potential as an individual created in God’s image.
South Central LAMP — Los Angeles, California
South Central LAMP was founded by eight women’s congregations in the Los Angels area.
In dialogue with the local community in South LA, the founders developed family-centered programming that have grown to include parenting programs, English as a second language courses, childcare and early childhood education programs, health and wellness activities, financial literacy seminars, family advocacy, and a food distribution center.
HEALTH
Fondation Dr Julien, Québec
The Dr. Julien Foundation supports community social pediatrics throughout Quebec. It sells knitted items made by the Maison Jésus-Marie of the SNJM Sisters.
Paki Health Centre, Mazenod, Lesotho
The Paki Health Center is known for the excellent quality of services offered to the Basotho population. The creation of this center is a direct spin-off of the Nursing School that the SNJMs have set up in Lesotho. This school has trained many nurses and health care workers. The presence of these well-trained people enabled existing dispensaries and clinics to benefit from their skills and encouraged some local communities to build a center, as was the case for the Paki Health Center.
The services offered to the population are varied. There is maternal and child health care, assisted delivery, direct patient service, antiretroviral surveillance and screening. The Center has set up four health posts that are visited four times a month.
Little Flower Health Centre, Kolonyama, Lesotho
The Little Flower Health Center has had a new site since January 2014. The center serves some 30 villages with an estimated target population of approximately 18,120 people, of whom 9,288 are women of childbearing age. There are approximately 2,392 people under the age of five.
The clinic is mainly oriented towards health services for children and maternity. This Catholic health facility is owned by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) since its inception in 1961. At the time, it was known as the St. Rose Health Center. It essentially offered health services to children under five. We followed the weight of the children and the whole aspect of nutrition.
St. Rose Health Centre, Peka, Lesotho
In the context of Lesotho, struggling with the ravages of AIDS and food insecurity, a source of many diseases, this clinic offers a wide range of services to the population, especially women and children, from prenatal health services to tuberculosis-related services like screening and awareness programs.
Our health center also distributes all medications needed to treat patients after consultation or for regular follow-up of patients. Among the most common are antiretrovirals and drugs for hypertension and diabetes.
HOUSING AND SOCIAL SERVICES
ArtBeat — Winnipeg, Manitoba
Established in 2004 by Associates Lucille and Ernie Bart, Artbeat Studio is a not-for-profit registered charity committed to decreasing stigma and discrimination that coincides with mental illness and poverty. Services are provided free of charge to participants. Projects include: Artist-in-Residence Core Program; Community Drop-in and Programming; and Gallery Boutique.
Family Promise Capital Region — Albany, New York
Family Promise was founded by a coalition of religious groups and other concerned partners in the greater Albany Region.
Since opening the program in 2015, FPCR has sheltered 61 families. FPCR also supports families at risk of homelessness, offering them advocacy, counseling, information about community resources, and emergency funding assistance.
Esther House — Winnipeg, Manitoba
Esther House, founded in Winnipeg in 1997, is a safe and sober living home for women in recovery from addiction. Esther House empowers women in recovery to transition back into the community with the confidence that they can live a sober and productive life and achieve their goals and dreams. It has served more than 350 women.
Future Hope — Winnipeg, Manitoba
In 2001, Sr. Carol Peloquin SNJM, a former Chaplain at Stony Mountain Institution, and four newly released parolees recognized an unmet need for transitional support to help inmates return successfully to society. The “Next Step” program began. In January 2008, in partnership with Jesuit Father David Creamer, Quixote House, a drug and alcohol-free residence for parolees, was born. Since then, longer term, stable and affordable housing has been added. Future Hope is a charitable non-profit organization incorporated in 2011.
Immaculate Conception Drop In — Winnipeg, Manitoba
Soup kitchen organized by SNJM sisters in 1974 in a low-income parish. Sisters, Associates, parishes and volunteers provide a meal on Sunday to 200-250 people. Now organized by lay people the Sisters and Associates provide the Christmas dinner for 350 and emergency food prep when needed.
Mercy Housing, Greenbrae
Mercy Greenbrae provide affordable housing to families and individuals living in the Lake Oswego/West Linn area. Mercy Housing Northwest owns and operates 52 properties throughout Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, providing over 5,000 families and seniors an affordable place to call home.
La CASA, Québec
La Casa‘s mission is to support men, or all individuals who identify as men, experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless, by offering them medium and long-term housing services, as well as psychosocial support with the goal of fostering residential stability and social re-affiliation.
Reitumetse Church Project (RCP) — Mazenod, Lesotho
Reitumetse Church Project founded in 1984 by Sister Gisèle Foucrault provides an old age home for the elderly, an orphanage for girls as well bread-making, egg production and animal raising to support the projects.
FIRST NATIONS
Photo: Mathieu Lavigne
Mission chez-nous, Québec
The organization Mission chez-nous aims to raise awareness among a broad public about Indigenous realities. It seeks to foster understanding between cultures by countering prejudices and promoting dialogue. It aims to offer its support, both material and moral, to the Indigenous and Inuit communities of the territory we now call Quebec.
Mission chez nous is a work of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec and a non-profit organization.
JUSTICE, PEACE AND INTEGRAL ECOLOGY
CATHII, Québec
The mission of CATHII is to promote the dignity of all human beings by opposing all forms of violence and/or exploitation related to human trafficking, by ensuring respect for the rights of victims and survivors, particularly women and children, and by acting in favor of their protection and support.
Comision contra la trata de personas, Peru
The purpose of the Anti-Human Trafficking Commission is to build a society without human trafficking at the local and continental level in a synodal key, aiming towards greater articulation of Consecrated Life, ecclesial organizations, and Civil Society, in order to restore human dignity and strengthen the culture of care.
Développement et Paix, Québec
Development and Peace works in partnership with local organizations in nearly 35 countries around the world. Its goal is to raise public awareness of the causes of people’s impoverishment and to inspire action for change.
Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center, Seattle
IPJC was co-founded over 30 years ago by several women’s congregations in LCWR Region XV. IPJC has had a strong SNJM presence in the person of the Executive Director. SNJM’s across the province read the publications of IPJC and reference the website, some have also had the opportunity to attend events sponsored by IPJC. Programs focus on education, youth advocacy, environmental issues, empowering women, responsible investments, and spirituality.
Laudato Si, Throughout the Congregation
In 2022, the Guiding Committee was established to advance the General Chapter Acts related to integral ecology and Laudato Si’, after the Congregation discerned and decided to register on the Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP). This committee of five persons is undertaking the “see-judge-act” methodology of the LSAP, and is using that approach to shape its work in offering guidance at the congregational level on ways to further the 2021 Chapter Acts. The 2021 General Chapter Acts may be found on the congregational website, and are posted on the LSAP website in the Reflections section, as a part of our reflection statement.
While this committee is planning on the congregational level, we are aware that Sisters and Affiliates in some regions have registered on the LSAP as local communities or individuals, and some are participating with parishes or regional environmental groups who have registered on the LSAP.
Red Kawsay Peru, Peru
Through prevention, care, and advocacy activities, the Commission against Human Trafficking of the Conference of Major Superiors of Peru aims to contribute to building a society free from human trafficking.
REFUGEES
Refugee Ministry — Windsor, ON
For decades the Windsor Mission Centre has collaborated with the Diocese of London and other partners to provide safe housing, educational programs, and support navigating the immigration processes for refugees entering Canada through Windsor. Currently the Mission Centre supports two houses, owned by our congregation, and provides additional housing for two other refugees in one of our homes. The program is run by a lay director.
Holy Names House of Peace — Winnipeg, Manitoba
Holy Names House of Peace, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2004 by Sr. Lesley Sacouman, is an intercultural, life affirming refuge for women in the heart of Winnipeg that welcomes all. This life affirming community provides a safe home for newcomer women in transition.
SPIRITUALITY
Centre culturel chrétien de Montréal, Québec
The CCCM‘s mission is to understand and bring the Gospel and the Christian heritage up to date within Quebec society. To achieve this, it aims to:
- Foster critical understanding of the Christian tradition
- Open debates on current religious and social issues in Quebec
- Build bridges between religious and philosophical currents
- Promote dialogue between science and faith
- Illustrate the poetic and aesthetic dimensions of the Christian tradition
Centre de spiritualité ignatienne de Montréal, Québec
The Centre de spiritualité ignatienne de Montréal promotes experiences of encounter, communion, interiority, accompaniment and training to help people discover their spiritual path and blossom.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Adelante Mujeres — Forest Grove, Oregon
Adelante Mujeres was founded by an SNJM and a lay partner, and has provided support for Latina women and their families, in Washington County, for over 20 years. The center advocates for women, provides opportunities for health care, offers education and childcare, creates space for cottage industries, and builds community.
Fondation de la rue des femmes, Québec
The mission of the Fondation de la rue des femmes is to:
- Provide women experiencing or at risk of homelessness with curative and preventive relational health care.
- Carry out research and provide training in relational health for various homelessness workers.
- Raise public awareness of the problem of homelessness.
- Promote relational health as a component of health, along with physical and mental health.
La escuela de verano, Peru
La escuela de verano is a service for children aged 7 to 12 from different villages in the Tambo Valley, a rural area in southern Peru, provided since 2021. It is offering a space for integration and learning during the summer months of January to March. Various free workshops such as Mathematics, Communication, Art, Music, and Dance are offered.
Maison des enfants Marie-Rose, Québec
The Maison des enfants Marie-Rose offers children aged 5 to 12 a living environment that protects the social fabric through prevention, mutual aid, support, empowerment, involvement, development, and social intervention. The recognition of the parental role is at the heart of this organization’s concerns.
Mission Jeunesse, Québec
The educational mission of Mission Jeunesse Québec focuses on the moral and social development of young people aged 9 to 17 within the school network. The organization has been able to leverage the work of education experts to hold creative workshops that bring young people together around a societal project.
Nuestra Casa — Sunnyside, Washington
Founded 20 years ago in Sunnyside Washington to serve the needs of Latino residents, Nuestra Casa focuses primarily on the needs of women and children. Programs including education, English, life skills, U.S. citizenship, and early learning. The center also creates networks of support and community for women and their families. The center is currently led by lay leaders.
Pastoralde acompañamiento a mujeres trans, Peru
Pastoral Trans is a ministry to make transgender women visible in Peru. For over seven years, in the district of San Juan de Lurigancho, the largest in Peru and the most populous in Latin America, a creative apostolate has been carried out to accompany transgender women who provide sexual services in one of its areas.
Pastoral da Criança, Brazil
Pastoral da Criança, or Children’s Pastoral, is a national program that empowers mothers and children, fostering children’s development from pregnancy to age six. Community leaders support mothers through home visits and monthly meetings, providing guidance in crucial areas such as healthcare, nutrition, education, citizenship, and spirituality. This work is rooted in the vision of Mother Mary-Rose, who believed that educating women is fundamental to transforming society. Improving women’s education thus improves their children’s lives.
Rossbrook House — Winnipeg, Manitoba
Founded by Sister Geraldine MacNamara in 1976, Rossbrook House is a safe place for children and youth living in the inner-city of Winnipeg, to belong, play, learn and become.
Transitions — Spokane, Washington
Located in Spokane, WA Transitions provides a range of services for women in need including housing, education, counseling, and career support.
OTHER
Mary’s Woods — Marylhurst, Oregon
Founded by SNJM’s in Oregon, in 2001. Mary’s Woods is a residence for over 50 retired SNJM’s and 650 non-SNJM men and women. It is known for “celebrating life” and for being a place of hospitality, beauty, and community. It strives to be an example of excellence for aging and meaningful end of life care. Mary’s Woods is governed by a lay board, with one SNJM on the board.
Ministries in Peru
Sisters and Associates in Peru engage in a variety of ministries including education, parish ministry, housing, early childhood, community organizing, health care, nutrition—whatever need they can meet given their talents and resources.