International Centre of the Sisters of St. Joseph

The International Center is a collaborative project of all the Congregations of Sisters of St. Joseph in the world, having their origins in the Congregation founded in 1650 by Jean Pierre Medaille, SJ, and six women, in Le Puy-en-Velay, France. The mission of the Centre is to promote interaction, collaboration and communion among Sisters, Associates and lay partners in creating an earth community based on the values of right relationship with God, with others, and with the planet.

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Students from C/SSJ Colleges Make a Pilgrimage to Le Puy

Sixteen students from the nine colleges in the Association of Colleges of the Sisters of St. Joseph (ACSSJ) visited Le Puy June 17-21 to learn more about the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The colleges represented include:

Avila University -- Kansas City, MO
Chestnut Hill College -- Philadelphia, PA
The College of St. Rose -- Albany, NY
Elms College -- Chicopee, MA
Fontbonne University -- St. Louis, MO
Mt. St. Mary's University -- Los Angeles, CA
Regis College -- Weston, MA
St. Catherine University -- St. Paul, MN
St. Joseph College -- Brooklyn, NY

Arrival
After traveling for 20 hours from New York, some even longer, the students arrived happy and excited about what for most was their first trip to France and travel outside the USA. Students regarded this trip as the highlight of their lives.

The students were led by Sisters Kitty Hanley and Joan Lescinski together with Dan Leahy (Director of Campus Ministry and Service, St. Regis), Lori Helfrich (Director of Campus Ministry, Fontbonne University), and Martha Malinski (Executive Director, Association of Colleges of Sisters of St. Joseph).

Sisters Kitty and Joan outside the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Dan, Lori, and Martha on a climb to St. Michel.

Day 1

On Monday morning, after going to bed early the night before, the students had their petit déjeuner (breakfast) and left at the Centre at 9 a.m. to climb St. Michel.

The sisters then took them on a walking tour of the city. They
stopped for a lunch

of lentils (a local product of Le Puy) at a local restaurant.

Later the group visited the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Some students climbed inside the statue of the Blessed Mother.

Back at the Centre for the evening meal, they marveled that they had climbed the two mounts.

The students were really hyped for a French experience. They tried unfamiliar foods, talked with French people even though they didn't know the language, and even wore berets. C'est très chic!

Day 2
On Tuesday morning, the group visited St. Joseph School, which is sponsored by the Institute of the Sisters of St. Joseph of France. They were very impressed with the knowledge and sophistication of middle and high school students they met who spoke to them in English.

After a lunch of crêpes in the restaurants of the Old City, the students visited the Kitchen of the first Sisters of St. Joseph (1650) with Sister Simone. They also witnessed the 350+ years of the Congregation's evolution at the Centre of Living History.

Never showing any signs of fatigue, the students walked back to the Old City at 10 p.m. to see the Luminaries of Le Puy, which are projected light shows on civic buildings. The Luminaries are played on a continuous loop every night from May through September.

Day 3
The students went to 7 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral, which featured a send-off to pilgrims beginning their trek on the Camino de Santiago Compostella. Although The Way is 500 miles long, the students got a taste of it by following the first 8 miles of the Camino. Click on to this blog post for a full account of their experience.

They had the afternoon free and many went shopping for their last minute lace, post cards, lentils, souvenirs, and gifts.

Reflections
Every evening after dinner, the students shared their thoughts, feelings, and reflections of the day. The group leaders were both impressed and pleased with the students.

"They are really getting it," said Sister Kitty. "They are understanding what the sisters are all about."

For a more detailed report on the students' impressions of Le Puy, see Tatiania's blog. She is a journalism and religious studies major from St. Joseph College.

The group left the Centre on Thursday morning to spend two days in Lyon where they will learn more about Mother St. John Fontbonne and visit the Motherhouse and Living History Centre.

They will also visit the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Old Lyon, the Cathedral of St. Jean-Baptiste, Place Bellecour, the Ancient Palais de Justice, and the Gallo-Roman Amphitheater.

On Saturday morning they will head back to the USA satisfied with a cadre of new memories and new friends.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Students from C/SSJ Colleges Walk the Camino of St. James of Compostella

One of the highlights of the 16 ACSSJ students' trip to Le Puy was the 7 a.m. Mass for Pilgrims at the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

The students were from the nine colleges in the Association of Colleges of the Sisters of St. Joseph (ACSSJ). They visited Le Puy June 17-21 to learn more about the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Most of the 100 people who attended were getting ready to launch their pilgrimage on the Camino de St. Jacques (a.k.a. The Way). This centuries-old pilgrimage starts from Le Puy and wends its way across the northern part of Spain to the Atlantic Ocean. People come from all over the world to make this sacred pilgrimage. Many of them walk the full 500 miles in 30-45 days while others walk some part of the Camino. The students walked the first four miles. In the above photo, they are at the Cathedral of Notre Dame posing with St. Jacques.

After the Mass, the pilgrims were invited by the presiding bishop to gather under a statue of St. Jacques for a blessing. First, however, he asked the pilgrims where they were from. The students proudly raised their hands for the USA, and it seemed to please the bishop.

The bishop blessed all of the pilgrims as they prepared for their journey. Many of the students were greatly moved.

The bishop gave each of the pilgrims a St. Jacques de Compostelle medal as a remembrance of this important spiritual journey.

The bishop invited all the pilgrims to write their intentions for their pilgrimage on a piece of paper and put it in a box under the statue of St. Jacques.

Before they left the cathedral, Sister Kitty invited the students to bless one another.

The students began their pilgrimage by filing out of the side door of the church and downward through a stone gate that leads through the city.

Scallop shells have been posted to help guide the pilgrims along The Way.

On the Rue de St. Jacques in Le Puy (just off Place du Plot), pilgrims follow the road that once led out of one of the city's seven gates when Le Puy was a walled city.

Someone a long time ago made a ceramic of St. Jacques and placed it next to the sign above.

Outside Le Puy, the students walked up a steep hill. Near its summit was a statue of St. Jacques. The students were more than willing to pose for another group shot.

The Camino de St. Jacques de Compostelle

Le Puy was one of the original routes of the Camino, however, there are several others including the following as posted on the Camino de Santiago website:

The pilgrimage from Le Puy to St. Jacques de Compostelle began in the 10th century in response to Muslim invasions in Jerusalem, North Africa, Spain, and France. In the 11th century, people began talking about a reconquest of Spain, which the Moors had conquered in 711. Because St. James was believed to be the evangelist of Spain, people began making pilgrimages there in his name. Thanks to the promotion of the pilgrimage by Archbishop Diego Gelmírez (1100-1140), St. Jacques de Compostelle ranked with Rome and Jerusalem among the great destinations of medieval pilgrimage. For more info about the pilgrimage see The Confraternity of St. James website.

The Camino has become very popular in recent years as more and more people seek a spiritual experience through pilgrimage. Some say this is happening because the world is in such a mess. Whatever the reason, pilgrims of all shapes, sizes, ages, nationalities, and religions are attracted to the Camino--and they all have different reasons for following it.

To learn about people's personal stories and experiences on the Camino, see the Martin Sheen film called: The Way or click on to several YouTube documentaries.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Philadelphia Sisters Make a Pilgrimage to Le Puy

Sixteen sisters from the Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia) congregation weathered torrential rains and a hail storm during their week-long pilgrimage to Le Puy, but their enthusiasm, patience and excitement about “coming home” never deterred them--or slowed them down.

One thing they surely discovered was that being a pilgrim isn't all that easy. Their journey started out on Wednesday, June 6 with a long plane ride from Philadelphia to Frankfort, Germany, and another to Lyon. At the Lyon airport they were greeted by a bus that pulled a trailer filled with their luggage.

They finally arrived in Le Puy just after a rain storm. (It had been raining in Le Puy nearly every day for the past month.) They had to drag their luggage up one or two flights of stairs to their rooms because the elevator at the Centre was being repaired. Then, just as everyone was settled in their rooms, the repairman finished his work!

The theme of the pilgrimage was to walk in the footsteps of the sister-founders. Sr. Dolores Clerico and Sr. Sheila Holly were the group leaders.

Each morning, the sisters prayed together around a candle and received some input on the history of the founding sisters. In the afternoons they visited sacred SSJ sites in the old city and explore other interesting places.

Meals begin with prayer led by one of the sisters. Then, one by one, the sisters of each table go to the buffet table to fill their plates with delicious French food.

The sisters enthusiastically signed up for kitchen clean-up. Kitchen duty entails a team of two sisters who prepare the dishes for the dishwasher while a third sister shakes out the table cloths and sweeps the dining room floor.

On one of the first evenings at the Center, a couple ace gardeners noticed the Centre's rose bushes needed trimming so they pitched in to do the work. Many thanks to Vickie and Donna with some help from Mary, Mary Elizabeth, and Bonnie to do this much-needed job.

During the rosebush trimming, they made some new friends.

Some candid photos of the group.

During the final two days, the sisters climbed St. Michel (right). Others went up to the Notre Dame statue. Most of them went to the St. Joseph Mount--again in the rain.

On Wednesday, June 13, the sisters packed their bags and headed for Lyon to visit the Lyon Congregation's Heritage Center to learn more about Mother St. John Fontbonne. On the way, they stopped at her birthplace in Bas-en Basset and Monistrol, the town where she entered the community and later became a local superior.

Many sisters described their experience of Le Puy as "coming home." Their visit to the Kitchen where the founding sisters lived was especially meaningful.

St. Joseph Academy of Baton Rouge

It was a short trip, but one well worth the visit. Alumni, former teachers and current students spent the afternoon in Le Puy to discover the 1650 foundations of the Sisters of St. Joseph. They arrived by bus--a huge bus--at the Centre where they heard a brief presentation about the history of the founding of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Le Puy as well as the mission of the International Centre.

Then they headed out to the Old City of Le Puy to visit the Kitchen. They met with Sister Simone Sauges, who talked about the beginnings of the Sisters of St. Joseph.