March 25 and the Sisters of St. Joseph

March 25 turns out to be significant for a number of reasons. I led staff prayer this week and tried to incorporate a variety of themes that converge on this day. March in general is Women’s History Month. Today is the day the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary. It’s also the date when our sisters arrived in St. Louis, MO in 1836. It was from St. Louis that our congregation spread all over the United States and Canada. I am always in awe of the stories of these women who took amazing risks to spread the Gospel message across this country, Canada, and beyond. My mind is boggled when I try to picture how they did it without sophisticated methods of transportation and, miracle of miracles, without the internet or cell phones! We can’t even find each other in an airport today without a cell phone.

Another somewhat obscure fact that I just learned from our archivist is that March 25, 1880, is the date The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston was officially incorporated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We arrived here on October 2, 1873 so it took over six years for this process to happen.

On a more personal note, today would be the birthday of my cousin who passed away a few years ago at the age of 97. I think she would be 102 today. When I think if Mary, and her “Yes” to being the mother of Jesus, I think of my cousin as one who lived this “yes.” This cousin was also a Sister of St. Joseph. She was more like an aunt than a cousin and all during the time I was growing up, we visited her regularly. She was a grace filled woman. I suspect that she had a big influence on my becoming a sister even though I didn’t realize it at the time.

The picture at the top of this post was taken in the little chapel at the top of Rocher St. Michel in Le Puy, France. The picture on the masthead of this blog is a panoramic view of Le Puy and you can see the chapel at the top of the pinnacle [or puy in French] near the middle of the picture. There’s over 250 stairs that lead to this chapel. It’s quite a hike but the views are spectacular. I’ve done it four times on different visits to Le Puy. I tried to find a picture that spoke to me of the Annunciation. Maybe it’s because the chapel dates from the 10th century, the age alone of the place is inspiring. At the base of the pinnacle is an even smaller St. Gabriel chapel with lovely bronze art on the walls which depict the Annunciation.

Here's one picture I took on one of my hikes to the top of Rocher St. Michel. I must have hundreds on file. I like this one because it gives a sense of the old city of Le Puy. You can see the statue of Notre Dame du France and the Cathedral of Le Puy. It also looks out onto the part of town where the convent is located where the Sisters of St. Joseph first came together in Le Puy in 1650. Inside this convent you can still visit the ancient kitchen where they first gathered.