The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet work to bring loving unity to a divided world.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and associates educate, advocate, and take action to promote social justice. Our work is rooted in the gospel call to social justice and the struggle to be prophetic signs of unity in our world.

A Mission of Love. A Vision of Unity.

At our beginning, the Sisters of St. Joseph were known as the “Congregation of the Great Love of God.” This love is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching as he notes the greatest of commandments to be, “love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-39).

The Sisters of St. Joseph have sought to make that love visible for 368 years, “always moving toward profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction.” This love calls for a unity of all people and of all creation. Jesus’ great prayer for his followers, “that they all may be one,” (John 17:21) is the root of our work for loving unity.

Therefore, we work to achieve unity of neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God so that all may be one. Whatever we do to bring this understanding of oneness about is our work of justice.

Responding to the Needs of the Times

Since our founding in 1650, the Sisters of St. Joseph have been called to respond to the needs of the times, a tradition that we continue to embrace today. Sisters of St. Joseph, along with our associates and partners, serve individuals and speak out on the unjust systems that affect them such as: immigration, prison ministry, socially responsible investing, human trafficking, women’s issues, healthcare, LGBTQ issues, poverty, and more.

Collaboration for Change

We believe that the mission of Jesus calls us to collaborate with others to work for justice. To effect systemic change, we widen our networks with others.

To further the unity we seek, the Sisters of St. Joseph work individually and together, joining with local, national and international groups to address issues that demean or deny people their human dignity and that force those who are marginalized to bear the burden of unjust systems. To sustain, enhance, and ensure needs are identified and addressed and that works of justice are sustained, we collaborate with our associates and others who hold similar values to provide direct service and advocacy.

These three concerns especially guide our justice work:

	Everything is Connected: Care for Creation As Sisters of St. Joseph, connectedness and relationship are at the heart of who we are. Foundational to our justice work is the belief that everything is interconnected and that creation is a sacred trust given to the whole Earth community. We recognize that all aspects of justice and survival intertwine with all creation – nature, humanity and organizations. We commit, individually and communally, to recognizing how our decisions impact the Earth community; to raising our awareness and changing behaviors; to acting with urgency to protect Earth’s stability and integrity; and to celebrating her beauty wherever we are. See our Communion within the Earth Community resources
	Everyone is Included: Dismantling Discrimination of Race, Class, Gender, and Religion Foundational to the principles of Catholic social teaching is our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers; we are one human family. We are in solidarity with one another. In our Catholic Social Teaching, that means loving our neighbor “without distinction” has global dimensions. In our circle, everyone is included.
	Everyone is Sacred: Promoting Peace and Nonviolence Because we are all one, what hurts one of us hurts all of us. The Sisters of St. Joseph work to further peace and seek ways of nonviolence by being women of relationship, respecting one another and recognizing the human dignity of all. We collaborate with others who are in pursuit of peace.

 

Our latest justice work

• Sisters of St. Joseph Condemn the Violence at the Capitol (1/7/2021) -   The U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph condemns the violence at the U.S. Capitol yesterday. As members of…
• Sisters call for rebuilding God’s “Beloved Community” (11/12/2020) - The U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph congratulates the president-elect and recommits to building God’s "Beloved Community." As…
• Reaffirming Our Opposition to the Death Penalty (11/5/2020) - With the continued and increased use of the death penalty, we the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are impelled…
• The Congregation Confronts Racism (7/10/2020) - As police shootings and immigration policies have shined a spotlight on racism in the United States recently, our congregation has…
• Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph calls for dismantling systemic racism (6/3/2020) - "The U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph strongly condemns the police-killing of another Black man on the streets…
• St. Paul Province speaks out about racism (6/1/2020) - Last week, our Province Leadership Team in St. Paul, Minnesota, sent a letter to their local elected and church officials…
• May I Speak Out … Against Racial Injustice (5/27/2020) - At that same meeting, the sisters called us to “bold conversation and prophetic action” to work toward dismantling systems of…
• Get involved in Laudato Si’ Week! (5/8/2020) - Our congregation, in partnership with the U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph has planned a slate of events to…
• Leaders’ letter to Dolan featured in NCR article (5/6/2020) - The National Catholic Reporter's Global Sisters Report has featured the letter our Congregational Leadership Team sent to Cardinal Dolan on…
• Congregational leaders send letter to Cardinal Dolan (5/1/2020) - Guided by the Statement of Future Direction from our most recent congregational chapter, which calls us to work toward an…