|
|
Founded by the Jesuit, Jean-Pierre Médaille, in response to the poverty which filled the varravaged countryside, the Sisters of St.Joseph trace their origins to mid-17th century central France.
At time when to be a woman religious meant to be part of a cloistered congregation, Médaille envisioned another way to live religious consecration. He gathered together widows and young women desirous of living an authentic Christian life and responding to the misery which surrounded them.
|
|
In order to have freedom to moce about the village or city unaccompanied, to care for the people wherever they were, the first sisters, dressed like widows of the day, were not visibly diferent from ordinary women. In these early years the sisters devoted themselves to the edication of girls, catechetical instruction, visiting prisoners, caring for women and girls who found themselves alone and unprotected. In short, they engaged in apostolic work corresponding to the diverse forms of poverty within their society.
Le Puy
J.P. Médaille founded a congregation of religious women who, like the Jesuits, would join prayer and contemplation with active service of those in greatest need. Being aware of the importance of creating links among people across all the social (economic, educational, religious, cultural) barriers which separate them, he established unity as the aim of the congregation: unity of persons with God and among themselves.
The first house
Thanks to the support of Henri de Maupas, bishop of Le Puy, who officially recognized them as religious in 1650, the Sisters of St.Joseph were soon entrusted with a residence for homeless girls and women. There the Sisters looked after the material welfare of those entrusted to them and also cared for their intellectual ans spiritual development.
The Little Design, as Médaille called the institute, grew and developed until the dawn of the French Revolution which effectively suppressed all forms of religious activity. During the trying years of late 18th century France, five Sisters of St.Joseph were sent to the guillotine and the others were forced to return to their families. Among the latter was Sister St.John Fontbonne who refounded the congregation after the Revolution.
|
|
|
In 1808, in the city of Lyon, Sisters John Fontbonne was invited to introduce a group of women to the spirit of the Daughters of St.Joseph. This was the seed that would grow into the great tree which today counts about 42 congregations serving in over 50 different countries and on every continent. Though these various congregations are autonomous, they work in close collaboration with one another through the four federations of St.Joseph. |
 |
The Sisters of St.Joseph of Chambéry are on branch ot this great tree. They trace their origins to 1812 when Mother Saint Jean Marcoux was sent from Lyon to Aix les Bains in Savoy to care for porr orphans. Within a short period of time, the bishop of Chambéry called the Sisters to the city and so began the Savoy branch of the Sisters of St.Joseph. With the fall of Napoleon and the ensuing political situation, the Sisters of St.Joseph of Chambéry became independent of the Sisters of Lyon. |
|
By 1821, Sisters were leaving Chambéry for missions in Italy. This was only the beginning of a large missionary expansion.
By the end of the nineteenth century, the congregation of Chambéry had spread Scandinavia, with sisters in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, and had established themselves in Russia, Brazil, the USA and India, as well.
This expansion has continued into the twentieth century both within Europe (Ireland, Wales, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic) and on other continents: Africa, Asia, S.America and N.America.
During the nineteenth and much of the twentieth century, the sisters dedicated their energies to serving the needs of the people principally in schools and hospitals.
|
|
