Press Release from SND and St. Charles - June 20, 2025
For over 100 years, the St. Joseph Heights property has been the home to hundreds of Sisters of Notre Dame. As the number of sisters decreased and the need for a different type of physical space became a reality, the sisters made the decision to move to St. Charles Community, a ministry originally founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1961.
The former St. Joseph Heights convent building is being demolished to make room for new uses of this property. Fencing to secure the original convent building at 1601 Dixie Highway will be going up at the end of June. Deconstruction of the St. Joseph Heights building will begin on July 7, 2025, led by O’Rourke Demolition Company. Notre Dame Academy will be open and operating during deconstruction and cleanup of the St. Joseph Heights building, which will continue through the rest of 2025.
The Sisters of Notre Dame plan to continue their mission and ministries in Northern Kentucky by repurposing this property to address the many needs of senior adults, including recreation, education, housing, inter-generational opportunities and meeting space for Park Hills seniors.
St. Charles’ vision for the St. Joseph Heights campus includes a Senior Resource Center with free services to area seniors along with cottages specifically designed to meet the need for safe, maintenance-free housing for middle-income seniors. “Keeping the property in the ‘family’ means everything to us,” added Ms. Smith, President/CEO of St. Charles. “This community will be rooted in the same spirit of dedicated service that the sisters have provided for generations.”
Of the 68 Sisters of Notre Dame living in Kentucky, 38 sisters are now living on the St. Charles Community campus. Another 30 sisters are living and ministering within the greater Northern Kentucky area or in Southern Ohio.
The Sisters of Notre Dame are an international community spanning five continents, 14 time zones, and 17 countries. The U.S. province of the Sisters of Notre Dame consists of 4 regional ministry centers in Chardon, OH, Covington, KY, Thousand Oaks, CA, and Toledo, OH. Along with ministry programs in the United States, SND USA-founded international missions continue to provide services in India, East Africa, and Papua New Guinea.
The 103rd and final SND 4th of July Festival is taking place July 4, 2025, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, at Notre Dame Academy in Park Hills. For more information on the festival, please visit: sndusa.org/festival2025
For More Information, Contact:
Sr. Shauna Bankemper, SND
859.308.9485
Joint Statement from SND and St. Charles - January 22, 2025
It is with great pleasure that the Sisters of Notre Dame (SND) and the St. Charles Community (St. Charles) share with you that they have reached a preliminary agreement for an expansion of the St. Charles’ ministry to take place on the Dixie Highway campus of the SND (St. Joseph Heights), which has been home to the SNDs since 1926.
Nichole Smith, Executive Director of the St. Charles Community, comments on this opportunity by saying, “Since our founding by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1961, the St. Charles Community has been a leader in senior care in Northern Kentucky. Our mission calls us to care for the whole person – body, mind, and spirit – with professional competency, respect, and deep devotion to the healing ministry of Jesus. We believe that this expansion will enable us to reach more seniors in desperate need of compassionate care and services, while honoring and preserving the legacy of the Sisters of Notre Dame in this region.”
In 2023 and 2024, most of the sisters who were living at St. Joseph Heights transitioned to living on the St. Charles’ campus. Ms. Smith further commented, “Welcoming the sisters to our St. Charles Community has been a blessing.”
Regarding the future, Sr. Shauna, Provincial Councilor for SND, has shared, “It is very affirming to the sisters to see the potential for St. Joseph Heights to continue serving the SND mission through an expansion of St Charles’ own mission and ministry on the campus. And since many in-depth studies have shown that a re-purposing of the existing building is not feasible, the SND will be taking it down this summer – this as the next step in St. Joseph Heights’ further service to mission.”
Ms Smith added, “After a year of prayer, study and meetings, we are committed to entering the next part of the study. We envision a phased development, and we have engaged professionals to assist us in determining how St. Charles can best serve the local community through this expansion and long into in the future.”
Sr. Shauna concluded with, “In making decisions about the future, our goal is to maximize our mission-related impact and to continue to strengthen our existing ministries. We believe that transitioning the St. Joseph Heights property to St. Charles will provide significant benefits to both the Sisters and St. Charles, and to the broader Covington / Park Hills communities.”
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Margie Schnelle, by email at [email protected] or phone 859-392-8229.
Thank you,
Sr. Mary Shauna Bankemper, SND
Provincial Assistant, SNDUSA
“God says: I know the plans I have in mind for you, plans for peace and not disaster. I reserve a future full of hope for you.” – Jeremiah 29:11
The Mission Carries On
Despite the closing of the St. Joseph Heights building, the mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame remains strong. The Sisters have donated items and furniture from the building to various organizations locally and beyond. These donations reflect the ongoing commitment to supporting those in need. Those organizations include:
United Christian Volunteers Ministry (Erlanger/Elsmere)
Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky (H.O.N.K.)
Catholic Charities – Parish Kitchen and Mobile Food Pantry
DCCH Center for Children and Families
Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky
The Little Miracle Center – run by Sue Brown and the Glenmary Sisters
Ronald McDonald House
PeeWees’ Place
Scrap It UP – Sewing Room Materials and Supplies
Park Hills Fire Department
Villa Hills Civic Club
McHales Catering and Event Centers
St. Agnes Parish
Blessed Sacrament Parish
Cristo Rey Parish
St. Thomas Parish
St. Joseph Parish, Crescent Spring, KY
Mary Queen of Heaven Parish – Fish Fry
St. Augustine Parish, Augusta, Kentucky
NKY University Newman Center
Notre Dame Urban Education Center
St. Charles Community
The Julie Learning Center
Notre Dame Academy
Covington Catholic High School
SND Chardon Region
SND Toledo Region
Employees, Friends, and Families of the Sisters of Notre Dame