Sisters of St. Joseph form new congregation

By Sean Gallagher

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Tipton, headquartered in Tipton, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese, announced on Feb. 7 that they are joining six other Sisters of St. Joseph communities to form a new congregation.

The new community, which will be known as the Congregation of St. Joseph, is awaiting final approval from the Holy See, which is expected in April 2007.

The other communities helping form the new congregation are based in Cleveland; Cincinnati; LaGrange, Ill.; Nazareth, Mich.; Wheeling, W. Va.; and Wichita, Kan.

The Congregation of St. Joseph is expected to have more than 800 sisters, a press release said.

In a statement, St. Joseph Sister Joseph Martin McEntee, the president of the Tipton-based community, said the decision to form a new congregation “grew out of our … common origin, heritage, charism and mission from the original Sisters of St. Joseph, who began to minister more than 350 years ago in La Puy, France.

“Rather than continuing as independent congregations,” Sister Martin said, “we have chosen to be and act more as one that we might better focus our human and capital resources on serving the needs of the world’s people in the 21st century.”

Four Sisters of St. Joseph of Tipton are currently ministering or in residence in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

St. Joseph Sister Jane Frances Mannion has served as a pastoral associate at St. Luke Parish in Indianapolis for eight years. For 15 years before that, she served as a pastoral associate at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis. She currently serves on her congregation’s leadership council.

In a telephone interview, Sister Jane Frances, who entered her community in 1960, noted a commonality between the start of her religious life and the life of this newly-formed religious community.

“When I entered 46 years ago, I didn’t know what was ahead,” she said. “You have to depend on the Spirit and know that we’re working together. That’s been important.”

She said the formation of the new community could have an impact on the archdiocese by introducing it to many women religious who might not have considered ministering here in the past.

“I think it would be enticing knowing that there’s an opportunity to go to another diocese and to be involved in the life of that diocese,” Sister Jane Frances said.

The headquarters for the new congregation will be in LaGrange Park, Ill. †