Our Federation Story

Below is an overview of the founding of the Sisters of St. Joseph in France and our arrival in North America. This short video explains our mission, vision, values and commitment to bringing ‘active and inclusive love’ to the world.

Our Beginnings in France (1650 - 1835)

The Sisters of St. Joseph came into being during a time of great poverty and political unrest in 17th century France.  Until then, religious life had been restricted to those able to bring money, goods or land to the religious order they wished to join. These cloistered orders lived apart from the common people. However, in the early 1640s - amid the social turmoil of regional wars and suffering - our founders had a different vision.

Touched by the misery of the people, a small group of women came together in Le Puy in south-central France. They felt compelled to live and work among the people, sharing in their struggles and hopes and at night weaving lace in their little kitchen (see image) in order to earn funds for their work. Strengthened by the belief that they had a true calling from God, these six women sought the counsel of a young Jesuit priest, Jean Pierre Médaille, SJ. Under his guidance and encouragement, the first foundation of the Sisters of St. Joseph came into being in 1650. During the next 150 years, the Congregation grew and spread throughout neighbouring dioceses.   Learn more about the early founding of the Sisters in this video. With the start of the French Revolution (1789-1794), convents were suppressed, goods confiscated and the Sisters dispersed. Many were imprisoned and some were guillotined. Some escaped by taking refuge in their family homes.

Thirteen years later (in 1807), Mother St. John Fontbonne (Jeanne Fontbonne), one of the Sisters who had been imprisoned, was asked by the Archbishop of Lyon to gather together a community of former religious in his diocese. Through Mother St. John and several other Sisters of St. Joseph, this new Congregation was able to maintain continuity with the first community founded by Father Médaille. As more and more courageous women bonded together to serve the needs of the common people, the order grew and expanded throughout France and eventually throughout Europe and North America.  Learn more about the early life of Mother St. John as well as see a dramatic representation.

Sisters in North America (1836)

In 1836, the Bishop of St. Louis (Missouri) invited the Sisters of St. Joseph to come to the United States to teach deaf children. Six Sisters were sent from France – with three staying in Carondelet (New York) where they lived in a log cabin (see image) and founded a school for the deaf, and the other three moving on to Cahokia (Illinois).  By all accounts, the days were challenging with a new language, harsh living conditions and financial need, and yet the community quickly grew and the Sisters spread to other U.S. states and regions. Learn more about the North American Sisters and their history. Learn more about this North American history of the Sisters.

Sisters Come to Canada (1851)

While visiting Philadelphia in 1851, Toronto Catholic Bishop Armand de Charbonnel learned of the good works carried out by the Sisters of St. Joseph and the leadership of Mother Delphine as superior of the local orphanage.  Thus, at the Bishop’s request, Mother Delphine and three Sisters set out from Philadelphia and arrived in Toronto on October 7th - immediately taking charge of a local orphanage. Below is the timeline of the Sisters in Canada: 

1851 – Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto: Mother Delphine Fontbonne and three other Sisters (Martha von Bunning, Alphonsus Margerum and Bernard Dinan) arrived in Toronto. Their work began with poor immigrants and soon expanded into providing education, social services and heath care.

 1852 – Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton: Six months after their arrival to Toronto, Mother Martha von Bunning, with two novices, established St. Mary’s Convent and Orphanage in Hamilton, the first mission from Toronto. With the creation of the Diocese of Hamilton in 1856, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton became a separate congregation.  

1870 – Sisters of St. Joseph of London: First established as a teaching mission from Toronto in 1868, London became a separate congregation on December 10, 1870. 

1890 – Sisters of St. Joseph of Peterborough: In 1881 Toronto Sisters went to Prince Arthur’s Landing to teach. Soon, a convent wing was converted to care for injured railway workers and in 1884 a new hospital facility was built. In May 1890 the missions of Port Arthur, Fort William and Cobourg along with the new foundations in Lindsay and Peterborough, formed the new Peterborough Congregation. 

1921 – Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke: In response to a request from Bishop Ryan of Pembroke for teachers to staff the Catholic elementary schools, Sisters from Peterborough formed the new Pembroke Congregation.  

1936 – Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie:  The new Sault Ste. Marie Congregation drew its initial membership from the Peterborough Congregation. Carrying on the tradition of all Sisters of St. Joseph, this new congregation served many small communities around Lake Superior and on Manitoulin Island from their Motherhouse in North Bay.

1966 – Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada: On September 20, 1966, the six separate Canadian congregations - Hamilton, London, Pembroke, Peterborough, Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto - formed the Canadian Federation.

2012 – The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada: On November 22nd, a new chapter was opened in the long history of the Sisters of St. Joseph when four of the six Canadian Congregations - Hamilton, London, Pembroke and Peterborough – joined to become the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada.