Public joins sisters to honor St. Joseph

Townspeople and Sisters of St. Joseph shared the pews at the Sacred Heart Chapel in the Motherhouse this afternoon, in a special prayer in honor of the congregation’s patron saint.

Today is St. Joseph’s Day, when during the morning Mass the sisters traditionally renew their vows for the year.

But for the simple afternoon prayer service, the sisters invited the public to join them in prayer, reflection and song. After the half-hour service, led by Sister Mary Jo Thummel, the crowd mingled in the Motherhouse dining room to share refreshments.

The original Sisters of St. Joseph congregation was founded in 1650 in France by a Jesuit priest named Jean-Pierre Medaille. Today, more than 50 independent congregations and provinces of the Sisters of St. Joseph worldwide trace their origins to that beginning.  There are about 7,000 vowed Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States and some 14,000 worldwide.