• Eight Associates now serve in Silver City area

The number of Associates who help serve through St. Mary’s Spirituality Center has doubled with the recent commitment ceremony of four Silver City, N.M., women.

In a ceremony that focused on all the service Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia and their Associates provide in the Silver City area, the four were formally welcomed into the congregation.

They are Doris Lugo, Jovita Foster, Margaret M. Ogas and Vickie Ogas.

Four longtime CSJ Associates — Jerry Richard, Jayme Schwantes, Dave Schwantes and Oralia C. Rede — also renewed their commitment to the Sisters of St. Joseph during the ceremony Oct. 30.

Sister Marcia Allen, president of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, attended the ceremony and potluck dinner at Marian Hall, next to St. Mary’s Center. She thanked the Associates for their efforts in a wide range of ministries and for their commitment to the community.

In addition to operating St. Mary’s Spirituality Center, Sisters and Associates are active volunteers throughout the community, working in conjunction with The Volunteer Center, El Refugio, Single Sock, and many other service projects.

Sister Marcia and three other members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia Leadership Council — Anna Marie Broxterman, Jean Rosemarynoski and Mary Jo Thummel — were visiting Sisters Rita Plante and Rosemary Farrell, who live and work in Silver City.

Sister Rita is the director of St. Mary’s Spirituality Center while Sister Rosemary is a play therapist working with children at El Refugio.


CSJ Associates are Christian men and women who seek participation in a faith community through sharing and communal prayer. They recognize the spirit of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia in their own hearts and seek a closer association with the sisters and others.


For more information on CSJ Associates, click HERE.

Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia have served in Silver City for 83 years. The earliest sisters to serve in that area of southwestern New Mexico were Sisters of Mercy, who arrived in the 1880s. That congregation eventually sold their facilities in Silver City to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tipton, Ind., who served until the early 1920s. In 1926, the sisters in Silver City became affiliated with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, who have served in the area ever since.

St. Mary’s Spirituality Center is at 1801 N. Alabama St. in Silver City, N.M. The phone number there is 575-538-3350. Sister Rita may also be reached by email, at rplante@zianet.com