Who We Are

The Federation is a dynamic union of Sisters of Saint Joseph which moves us to greater consciousness of our kinship in grace and calls us to fidelity to that grace. This union of all Sisters of Saint Joseph of the United States claims a common origin in the foundation at LePuy, France.

• To support in all Sisters of Saint Joseph a continual striving to incarnate CSJ/SSJ charism within the mission of Jesus in the church of today and of the future.
• To integrate a continuing exploration of CSJ/SSJ charism by an approach that looks toward its living expression as well as its historical roots.
• To collaborate in programs which facilitate the understanding and interpretation of the CSJ/SSJ charism as it affects the life and ministry of the members.
• To provide the members with a sense of belonging to a movement greater than one's own congregation.
• To serve as a means of linking leaders and members of CSJ/SSJ congregations through the direction of a Leadership Council.

Directional Statement, 2000

History

The Sisters of Saint Joseph were among the first Catholic communities to be founded for the ordinary woman. They were not wealthy or educated and worked to support themselves especially by making lace, a common trade in that region of France. Today, those who are attracted to this still live among the people and offer their lives in love and service. We carry on the heritage of our founders, six French women who joined a Jesuit priest in 1650 to begin a community without cloister or habit and devoted to the needs of the ordinary people. They shared a profound desire for union with God and the "dear neighbor".

The community grew. In 1650, it was formally recognized as a religious congregation by the Bishop of LePuy. By the time of the French Revolution, it had spread through south central France in the region of the Valey. Then, caught in the political turmoil of the times, the congregation was disbanded. Some of the Sisters were martyred at the guillotine and others returned to their homes or went into hiding. After the revolution had ended, a heroic woman, Jeanne Fontbonne, who had narrowly escaped the guillotine herself, refounded the Sisters of St. Joseph at Lyon, France. She was known in the congregation as Mother St. John. Before long, the sisters were numerous again. In 1836, a request came from the Bishop of St. Louis, Missouri for Sisters to teach deaf children. He had been advised by a friend in France to "…get the Sisters of St. Joseph because they will do anything". Three sisters crossed the ocean and came to a log cabin in Carondelet, Missouri to found a school for deaf students. From there, they spread across the United States beginning new foundations and now are members of the organization known as The United States Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.

Our Ministries

The basic desire of the Sisters of Saint Joseph is to reflect a "profound love of God and Neighbor without distinction"; Our mission is to love and work so that all may be one.