United Nations Updates

Sister Joan Pikiell - UN Representative

S Joan

Sister Joan Pikiell has been appointed the new SSND representative to the United Nations, effective September 1, 2025. She begins her 6-year term of service as Sister Beatriz Eugenia Martinez-Garcia, SSND-CP, completes her time as the congregation’s representative.

The Atlantic-Midwest Province is pleased and honored that Sister Joan Pikiell has been appointed to this position by the General Council.

Let's thank Sister Joan for her “Yes,” and promise her our support as she begins this new journey for our congregation, our province and the global world.

The School Sisters of Notre Dame is a registered NGO (non-governmental organization) with the U.N. Department of Public Information since 1993. SSND also has a Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which provides the opportunity to submit statements for consideration by the U.N. Secretary-General and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

SSND at the United Nations

Read the most recent Shalom / UN-NGO Newsletter with dispatches from SSND Sisters throughout the world.
SSND has a rich history and commitment towards education. We have an opportunity to help elevate and address the current global education crisis this weekend as our NGO representative Sister Beatriz Martinez-Garcia attends the Transforming Education Summit.
My goal is to strengthen the spirit of Laudato Si’ (LS) in my students. Pope Francis says, “We lack an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of a future to be shared with everyone. This basic awareness would enable the development of new convictions, attitudes, and forms of...

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"In accord with church teaching and directives, we work actively, especially in our local situations, to eliminate the root causes of injustice in order to realize a world of peace, justice, and love.”

-YOU ARE SENT, CONSTITUTION OF THE SCHOOL SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME