The Congregation of Holy Cross: Anchors of the Mission
Holy Cross priests and brothers anchor the University’s Catholic character and spirit. Of the members of the Congregation on campus, 35 live
in residence halls, and eight serve as rectors. Twenty-six Holy Cross religious teach in the classroom in some capacity.
This is the essence of the Holy Cross model of education: forming students both inside the classroom and beyond it.
“The Congregation of Holy Cross at Notre Dame is blessed to be able to participate in the work that Blessed Basil Moreau began many years ago, and to serve both the University community and the wider world through our varied vocations,” said Rev. Austin Collins, C.S.C., Vice President for Mission Engagement and Church Affairs.
Members of the Congregation of Holy Cross view education as a work of resurrection. In a broken world, filled with sickness, racial strife, and discord, education can serve as a transformative endeavor for those who are suffering, and it can provide important avenues for growth, learning, and joy. In light of the problems that our society currently faces, education offers redemption and helps to enrich our communities.
Today, members of the Congregation are found across campus, working in administration, serving in chapels, living in residence halls, and teaching in classrooms. They gather for meals and common prayer, oversee the daily operations of campus life, celebrate Mass, counsel students, and provide instruction in everything from science to social justice to the liberal arts.
Since its founding, the Congregation has been working to fulfill the vision of its founder, Blessed Basil Moreau, to cultivate the hearts and minds of students.
In the troubled times following the French Revolution, a young priest named Basil Moreau assembled other priests to educate and revitalize the Catholic community in the region around Le Mans, France. Shortly thereafter, he accepted responsibility for the Brothers of St. Joseph, a group founded 15 years earlier. In 1841, Blessed Basil united the priests and brothers within a single association, the Congregation of Holy Cross, and the community began to grow internationally through its educational and missionary activity.
In one of the Congregation’s first missionary efforts, Father Moreau sent Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., and a group of brothers to the American frontier in the early 1840s to found a university. Today, priests and brothers of the Congregation continue to animate the University of Notre Dame with their mission to be “educators in the faith.”