Meet the Donegal nun who opened the door to higher education for women in America

The life and accomplishments of Inver-born nun Sr Julia McGroarty are being celebrated as part of the ExtraOrdinary Donegal Women showcase by Donegal County Museum.

A pioneer in providing higher education opportunities for marginalised women, Sr Julia’s work also included founding 14 convents across the US, as well as an orphanage in California.

Born in Inver on February 13, 1827 to Catherine (née Bonner) and Neil McGroarty, she was baptised Susan. In 1831, her family immigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio where the young Susan received her education in the convent school of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. 

In 1846 she entered the order and took the habit as Sr Julia, taking her final vows in 1848. 

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The dedicated nun would go on to become a leading light within the order, helping to establish a firm foothold in the US and to improve opportunities for Catholic and Black women. 

Donegal County Museum outlines her remarkable accomplishments, saying: “In 1860, she became the first American Superior in the Belgian-based order, when she took charge of the Academy of Notre Dame in Philadelphia.

“In 1886 she succeeded as Superior of the order’s American houses, east of the Rocky Mountains. She founded 14 new convents, a large novitiate in Waltham, Massachusetts and an orphanage in San Jose, California.”

Sr Julia wrote a standardised course of instruction and devised a system of common general examinations.

“The lack of higher-education facilities for Roman Catholic women prompted a number of lay and ecclesiastical leaders to prevail upon Sr Julia to establish a new institution,” continues the biography of St Julia by Donegal County Museum. 

“She established Trinity College, now Trinity Washington University, in Washington, DC. It was formally incorporated in 1897 and opened its doors in 1900. 

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“This was the first Catholic undergraduate college for women in America. It was also the first American University to allow black American women students.”

 Sr Julia died on November 12, 1901 while visiting one of the convents in Peabody, Massachusetts. She was 74. Her remains were returned to Cincinnati, where she was buried in the Chapel of the Summit - one of the Notre Dame schools she had founded.