East Catholic High School Dedicates New Grotto to Notre Dame Sisters

Story by Shelley Wolf

On Oct. 2, the feast of the guardian angels, students at East Catholic High School in Manchester recognized their guardian angels here on earth by dedicating a new Marian grotto to the religious sisters who have served them as trusted mentors and guides.

Students and faculty at East Catholic honored the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur with a Mass and the dedication of a new Marian grotto at the high school: the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Grotto.

“Seventy-one Sisters worked here over the years,” Sean Brennan, chief administrator of East Catholic High School, told the crowd at the dedication ceremony. The Sisters, he said, served over the years as administrators, teachers and counselors.

With the motto “God is good all the time,” the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur are still bringing their special charism to East Catholic High School, where they have been educating and shaping generations of students since the school’s founding in 1961.

Sister Peggy Evans, who has been with the school 58 years and still works part time, came up with the idea for the grotto. “Sister Peggy wanted to honor her fellow Sisters,” Brennan explained.

Brennan introduced Sister Peggy as “the soul of the school.” Over the years, she worked as a religion teacher, Spanish teacher, vice principal and guidance counselor. Today, she assists with alumni relations.

“They always said ‘East was best.’ East was best because of the student body here,” Sister Peggy told the students. “You rejuvenate me every day. The Sisters will tell you, I’m happy to wake up and come to work here every day.”

The event opened with a Mass in the auditorium, celebrated by Father Daniel Hackenjos, the dean of religious life for Archdiocesan Catholic High Schools. Later, students processed to the grotto for the dedication ceremony.

As the Sisters, the entire student body, and archdiocesan officials looked on, Father Hackenjos blessed the new grotto along with the student choir members who performed at the event.

The focal point of the new grotto is a bronze statue of Mary holding the baby Jesus. Now mounted on the side wall of the school, the statue was rescued from the old Notre Dame convent, which existed on the school property until it was razed in 2021. Bricks taken from that same convent now form the lower walls of the grotto.

Completing the grotto are a concrete sidewalk, prayer benches, hot pink rose bushes, evergreen plantings, and a bronze plaque dedicating it to all the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

The dedication ceremony was followed by a lunch honoring the 14 Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who were present for the special tribute.

The previous day, members of East Catholic’s boys basketball team, dressed in white shirts and black bowties, also served dinner at the Sisters’ Jubilee celebration at St. Robert Bellarmine Church in Windsor Locks.

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur are an international congregation, founded in 1804 by St. Julie Billiart (1751-1816) in Amiens, France. Today, their Motherhouse is located in Namur, Belgium. Their Connecticut office is located in Windsor.