Saint Boniface

The Sisters of Saint Dominic of Caldwell began in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1881 when a decision was made to form a new community separate from the New York City Dominican sisters. But our roots go back much further: first to Saint Dominic, who in 1206 established the first convent of cloistered Dominican Nuns in Prouille, France, and then to the medieval city of Regensburg, Germany, where, during the time of Saint Albert, the great Holy Cross Monastery of Dominican nuns was established in 1233. It is from this monastery, which continues today, that four women responded to the request of Benedictine Abbot Dom Wimmer to come to America to minister to the many German immigrants and arrived in New York City in 1853. In 1872, they came to downtown Jersey City where they opened Saint Boniface School and, in 1878, Saint Dominic Academy.

Reception of four young women (Rose Kunz, Margaret Dolan, Mary Starzinger, and Mary Johnson) to the Novitiate on August 4, 1882, in Jersey City, New Jersey

Following the separation from the New York foundation in 1881, the new community of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Jersey City were joined by a number of local women and were able to extend their presence to a growing number of parishes.