Edward Frederick Sorin

Edward Frederick Sorin was a French-born priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross and the founder of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and of St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. He was born in 1814 in Ahuillé, near Laval, France, to a well-off middle-class family. He received an early education at home and in the local school. He decided to become a priest and enrolled at the diocesan seminary in Precigné. There he met Basil Moreau, who was vice rector and professor of scripture. He also became interested in missionary work after listening to the pleas of Simon Bruté, bishop of Vincennes in Indiana, who had returned to France to recruit missionaries. He was ordained a priest in 1838 and was assigned as parish priest in Parcé-sur-Sarthe. He remained in this position for about fourteen months, but then desired to join Basil Moreau's novel organization, the Congregation of Holy Cross (born out of the merger of Moreau's auxiliary priests and Jacques-François Dujarié's Brothers of Saint Joseph). With the bishop's permission, he joined the group and underwent a brief novitiate. On August 15, 1840, Sorin - together with Basil Moreau and three other priests - were the first members of the Congregation of Holy Cross to take solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Sorin had a strong desire to go to America as a missionary. He asked Moreau for permission several times, but was refused due to his poor health and lack of resources. Finally, in 1841, Moreau agreed to send him with six brothers to Indiana, where Bishop Bruté had offered them a plot of land near South Bend. They arrived there on November 26, 1842, after a long and difficult journey. They found the land covered with snow and forest, with only a small log chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Lake. Sorin named the place Notre Dame du Lac (Our Lady of the Lake) and began to build a school for boys. He faced many hardships and challenges, such as lack of funds, harsh weather, fires, epidemics, conflicts with local authorities, and internal divisions among his companions. He also had to deal with the death of Bishop Bruté in 1839 and his successor Celestine de la Hailandière in 1847, who had been supportive of his mission. Despite these difficulties, Sorin persevered with faith and courage. He expanded his school into a college and then into a university. He also founded several other institutions in Indiana, such as St. Mary's Academy (later College) for girls, St. Joseph's Farm for agricultural education, St. Joseph's Orphanage for boys, St. Vincent's Orphanage for girls, St. Joseph's Hospital for the sick, St. Joseph's Novitiate for training new members of his congregation, and Sacred Heart Church for worship. He also sent missionaries to other states and countries, such as Texas, Louisiana, California, Canada, Mexico, Italy, Algeria, India, Bangladesh, and Brazil. Sorin served as the first president of the University of Notre Dame from 1844 to 1865. He then became the first American provincial superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross from 1865 to 1868. He was elected as the third superior general of the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1868 and served until 1893. He spent most of his time in France, where he oversaw the growth and development of his congregation. He also visited his foundations in America and other parts of the world. He was a visionary leader who had a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Holy Cross. He was also a charismatic and influential figure who inspired many people to join his religious family or to support his apostolic works. He died in 1893 at the age of 79 at Notre Dame, Indiana. He was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery on campus. He was declared venerable by Pope John Paul II in 2004. His congregation continues to serve in education, health care, social justice, and pastoral ministry in many countries today.