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St. Mary's Academy, 1859

About the Holy Names Sisters Foundation

The Holy Names Sisters Foundation supports the vitality of the Sisters' mission by creating opportunities for others to share in the Sisters' work, thus assuring resources to fulfill the mission into the future. Through their donations these partners provide for the Sisters general, retirement and ministry needs, as well as for the Holy Names Heritage Center - our archival ministry, our ministries in Lesotho, the Mary's Woods Resident Fund - assisting residents in need, and the Chapel at Mary's Woods.

A recent project completed through this partnership of lay donors and volunteers and the Sisters of the Holy Names was the renovation of the Sisters' 100 year old Chapel on the site of their Provincial Headquarters at Marylhurst, Oregon. Serving as the place of worship for a vibrant faith community comprised of the Sisters, residents of Mary's Woods and the larger community of the tri-county area, this Chapel will continue its sacred history well into the future because of the generosity and vision of our partners in mission. The renovation was a year-long process that culminated in a blessing ceremony on November 28, 2010.

The Sisters of the Holy Names, an international congregation of Catholic women religious and Associates, work toward the full development of the human person through education and compassion with the hope of building a better world. The Sisters have a special concern for women and vulnerable children and are committed to being responsible stewards of the earth. The province is coordinated by a five-person Leadership Team whose term of office is five years.

The Holy Names Community was founded in Quebec in 1843 by Marie Rose Durocher. Holy Names Sisters have ministered in the Northwest since 1859, the year Oregon became a State. Today, some 600 SNJM Sisters and about 400 Associates — women and men who share our mission, but do not make vows — are part of the U.S.-Ontario Province, formed in 2006 by uniting the five predominantly English-speaking provinces of the Congregation. Worldwide, Sisters of the Holy Names can be found on four continents. Sisters and Associates still carry the fire of their foundress into a wider world of education that embraces parish communities and diverse populations working toward a more just world.

Mary’s Woods at Marylhurst expresses the Sister’s charism and mission by providing a continuum of housing and health services in a caring retirement community for many seniors, including their own retired Sisters. Located on 75 acres of natural splendor in Oregon’s Willamette River Valley, Mary’s Woods offers living options that will meet any retirement lifestyle, as well as a full range of health care services and amenities.  Website