Sister Patricia Rooks, SNDdeN meets with her Mount Notre Dame High School Adopt-a-Sister group in 2019.
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Adopt-a-Sister Program, which in years past teamed up 25 to 30 Sisters with approximately 100 students from Cincinnati's all-girl Mount Notre Dame High School, has been paused because of the ongoing pandemic.
Through Adopt-a-Sister, the most popular extracurricular activity of the school, girls met with their adopted Sisters at least once a month, with the girls setting the format for activities, which included meals, outings and watching sports events together. (Mount Notre Dame High School is adjacent to the Sisters' convent.) Relationships fostered through Adopt-a-Sister often continued for years, even after graduation. According to Sister Ruthann Bedinghaus, who manages the program, a limited version of the program is continuing through correspondence and a gift program.
Published in the Cross Currents Magazine, Spring 2022 Volume 18 Issue 1, by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Ohio Province