Fraternité Notre-Dame is a

traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). ...

order of priests and nuns that is not in union with the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Origins

The origins of Fraternité Notre-Dame are in the reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in

Fréchou Fréchou (; ) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. The town is known for being the site of the pseudo-apparitions that led to the founding of the dissident Traditionalist Catholic schismatic sectarian group Fr ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. They were allegedly received in 1977 by Jean Marie Kozik, a Frenchman of Polish origin. He had been consecrated as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in 1974 by Jean Laborie, a controversial bishop, and then by the dissident and excommunicated

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese Archbishop

Ngô Đình Thục Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục () (6 October 1897 – 13 December 1984) was a Vietnamese Catholic prelate who served as the Archbishop of Huế in the Republic of Vietnam from 1960 until 1968. He later lived in exile in Europe due to unrest ...

Today

Fraternité Notre-Dame operates religious and humanitarian missions on four continents. The order operates soup kitchens and weekly food pantries in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipality is located in north central Mongolia at an ...

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, and

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. Additionally, a hospital for the poor has been opened in

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, and it has also operated humanitarian convoys to benefit those victimized by war in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

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Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, and

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Chicago

Since then Fraternité Notre-Dame nuns have become a fixture at numerous

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

farmer's markets selling traditional French

pastries Pastry refers to a variety of doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bak ...

to raise funds for the group.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Independent Catholic denominations Christian organizations established in 1977 History of Catholicism in France Christian denominations established in the 20th century Catholic dissident organizations Traditionalist Catholicism