Karolina Gerhardinger, later known as Blessed Mary Theresa, founded the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1833 to educate impoverished girls. Born in Bavaria in 1797, Gerhardinger became a teacher before recognizing her calling to religious life. As Mother Theresa and Superior General of her pioneering teaching order, she rapidly expanded her congregation of nuns across Germany and beyond. By the time of her death in 1879, over 2,500 sisters continued her mission of empowering poor youth through education globally.
How Karolina Gerhardinger founded a global order of teaching nuns
Her path to sainthood began in humble surroundings in 1790s Bavaria. Born in 1797 to devout Catholic parents in a small town near Regensburg, her father died when she was young. Gerhardinger’s parish priest, seeing her intelligence and faith, encouraged her to become a teacher to help lift up future generations. She moved to Regensburg in her mid-teens to train with a cloistered order dedicated to educating girls. Gerhardinger proved a gifted teacher who nurtured her young students with care and compassion. “Let us never forget the love of Jesus for children, whom he took upon his lap and blessed,” she would later tell her sisters in Christ.
After completing her teaching certificate in 1812, Gerhardinger instructed at an all-girls secondary school in Regensburg for over a decade. All the while, she felt increasingly called to religious life. In 1828, relaxed restrictions in Bavaria finally allowed Gerhardinger to pursue joining or establishing an order. On October 24, 1833, she moved in with two like-minded companions and founded the Poor Teachers Sisters of Notre Dame – dedicated to providing free education to the poorest and most vulnerable girls who lacked access.
Initially, the order struggled to win official Church recognition, but the new congregation swiftly expanded thanks to Blessed Theresa’s talent for teaching and administration. She dispatched groups of sisters to operate village schools throughout Germany, as well as orphanages, nurseries and vocational programs teaching marketable skills. Gerhardinger pioneered hands-on pedagogy including School Sisters of Notre Dame established the first kindergarten program in North America in 1840s Milwaukee – decades before such nursery education caught on elsewhere. She encouraged her subordinates to show children they were loved by God through compassion. “With the poor, helpless little ones God sends, let us prove ourselves rich in love and charity,” Mother Theresa urged the sisters.
By the 1860s, the School Sisters of Notre Dame operated hundreds of educational institutions across Germany and German-speaking lands. Why did Blessed Theresa’s order spread so rapidly – even as similar teaching congregations struggled or shuttered? Some credit inspiration and excellent organization – others suggest divine providence. Ambitious Mother Theresa likely combined skill and supernatural help. Though initially denied, her persistence paid off in 1865 when Pope Pius IX formally sanctioned the order – granting the School Sisters of Notre Dame status as an official congregation complete with Mother Theresa as Superior General.
When Blessed Mary Theresa died in 1879, over 2,500 School Sisters of Notre Dame carried forward her mission to uplift impoverished girls through education globally. Her pioneering vision as Superior General established a flourishing order devoted to compassion and empowerment.
Feastday: May 9
References
Gerhardinger, Mary Theresa. “Trust and Dare: Words for Each Day.” School Sisters of Notre Dame, 1985.