The Sisters of St. Joseph

The Sisters of St. Joseph began in Le Puy, France in 1650 when Father Jean Pierre Médaille S.J. gathered six courageous women together to form a religious community. Their purpose was to offer their lives in ministry to the most vulnerable in their area. They were among the first women religious to live and work among the people doing “any work of which women are capable” just as Father Médaille had envisioned. These women cared for the sick, the aged, the orphans, and the imprisoned; they instructed young girls, guided devout women in their faith, and worked tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of the poor.

The Congregation flourished and spread, arriving Canada in 1851. On November 22, 2012, a new chapter began for the Sisters of St. Joseph. Four of the six Canadian Congregations – Hamilton, London, Peterborough, and Pembroke – joined together to become one new congregation, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. Today, the Sisters of St. Joseph can be found worldwide in over 54 countries. They continue to respond to needs in their culture and are aware that their neighbourhood is the whole world as well as the person next to them.