The Sisters of St. Joseph originated in Le Puy-en-Velay, France during a time of social, religious, political, and economic hardship. Six women and a Jesuit priest worked to meet the needs of the people and witness to a unifying love of God and neighbor. Bishop Henri de Maupas of Le Puy recognized these women as a religious congregation in Joseph celebrate their foundation as October 15, During the revolution, religious orders were suppressed, their members dispersed or put into prison, and their properties taken by the state.
During the Reign of Terror in religious and clergy were forced to take an Oath of Allegiance and to recognize the national religion Those who refused risked their lives; at least five Sisters of St. Joseph were martyred at the guillotine. In , the Congregation was disbanded. A young sister, Jeanne Fontbonne, had been imprisoned at Saint-Didier-en-Velay and sentenced to be guillotined.
The government fell the day before her execution. She became known as Mother St. John and refounded the Sisters of St. Joseph in Lyon on August 15, Sisters that had lived in independent communities were centralized, went to a formal novitiate and adopted an industrial model.
By the time of her death in , there were convents in France under one central Motherhouse. On March 6, , six Sisters of St. Louis, Missouri to respond to the request of Bishop Joseph Rosati for sisters to teach in his new diocese, They started a school in a log cabin in Carondolet and were joined by two other sisters who came to teach deaf children.
From that small beginning, Sisters of St. Joseph spread throughout the United States. Joseph of Brentwood, New York. They founded their first school in St. The community grew so quickly it was necessary to find space for a new Motherhouse and the Academy. The congregation continued to grow and expand. Sisters were sent to found new congregations in Baden, Pennsylvania in ; Rutland, Vermont and Boston, Massachusetts in ; and Springfield, Massachusetts in Bishop John Loughlin requested that the Sisters administer a hospital for the population of the Brooklyn Diocese.
