Kim Westerman is the congregational communications director for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, based at the Congregational Offices in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Sisters of St. Joseph have gone through many organizational changes since our founding in 1650, while never wavering from our mission and charism. Today, guided by the Spirit, our congregation continues to discern the best way to govern ourselves.
As police shootings and immigration policies have shined a spotlight on racism in the United States recently, our congregation has made confronting and dismantling racism a priority. While we advocate for change in our society and work to examine our personal biases, we have also been grappling with our own congregational history.
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.