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How We Serve

Sisters Anne and Yolanda speak with their neighbors in Lima, Peru
“The Spirit calls us to live out our consecration in community and with the strength that comes from our life together, to turn beyond ourselves to serve a world in need.

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Constitution

Our life together in prayer and in community impels us to reach out to the dear neighbor, whoever they may be, whatever the need they might have.

These may be broad parameters, but from the beginning of our “little design,” our founder Fr. John Pierre Medaille had big ideas when he described the ministry of the sisters in the following way:

Sisters and neighbors participate in a retreat

“They shall practice all the spiritual and corporal works of mercy of which women are capable and that will most benefit the dear neighbor.”

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Constitution

Of course, we know that women are capable of almost anything!

Our Ministries

Today the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet fulfill our mission of serving the dear neighbor in wide-ranging ministries, including but not limited to:

  • Advocacy: Calling for a more just, peaceful and compassionate world for humanity and a more balanced and sustainable lifestyle for the Earth directly and through letters, visits to authorities, marches and vigils
  • Social services: Directly serving people who are poor, hungry, without homes, suffering from addiction, in prison; supporting migrants and asylum seekers, women and children, children in foster care, those with disabilities and more
  • Education: Working in elementary, high schools and universities as teachers, campus ministers, administrators and staff; tutoring in English as a second language, citizenship classes and after-school programs; working as librarians, mentors and consultants
    See a list of our sponsored educational institutions
  • Healthcare: Practicing nursing, pastoral care, psychological accompaniment and counseling, ethics, massage therapy, healing touch and Reiki, art therapy, medical technology; volunteering with the Red Cross and Ronald McDonald House; serving in administration, mission integration, staff support, family care
  • Pastoral ministry: Serving parishes, dioceses, youth, older adults; providing religious education and faith formation; working as parish life coordinators, liturgists, volunteers
  • Spiritual care: Providing spiritual direction; directing retreats and retreat houses; serving as chaplains in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice facilities
  • Law: Serving as attorneys, canon lawyers, mediation facilitators, notary publics and legal support for migrants and refugees
  • The arts: Creating beauty as musicians, artists, authors, poets, seamstresses and graphic designers
    See a list of sisters involved in creative ministries
  • Archives: Providing historian and docent services; managing our archives
  • Leadership: Providing expertise as speakers, consultants and facilitators
  • Interpretation and translation
  • Congregational service: Working in congregational and province leadership and administration; working with newer sisters and associates
  • Volunteer service in all of the above
  • Prayer and presence

About us

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a congregation of Catholic sisters. We, and those who share our charism and mission, are motivated in all things by our profound love of God and our dear neighbors. We seek to build communities and bridge divides between people. Since our first sisters gathered in 1650, our members have been called to “do all things of which women are capable.” The first sisters of our congregation arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in 1836, and we now have additional locations in St. Paul, Albany, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Japan and Peru. Today, we commit to respond boldly to injustice and dare to be prophetic.

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Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
Congregational Offices

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