Celebrating 165 Years in the Erie Diocese
We first came to the Erie Diocese in 1860 to teach children, and soon after, we began responding to other needs, including ministering to the sick. Our Sisters staffed many schools, including Harborcreek School for Boys, and we established Spencer Hospital, Saint Vincent Hospital, Villa Maria Elementary School, Villa Maria Academy, Villa Maria College, Saint Mary’s Home of Erie, St. Patrick’s Haven and many other ministries.
Eventually, our presence moved beyond hospitals and classrooms and included pastoral, social, and liturgical ministries in Catholic parishes, global mission projects, outreach to the elderly, campus ministry, and youth ministry, to name a few. Today, along with our Agrégées and Associates, we continue to carry out our mission of unity of neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God.
Come to the Waters (2010) –– Click here to explore the book.
Saint Vincent Centennial Anniversary 1875-1975 (2010) –– Click here to explore the book.
Sisters of St. Joseph Historic Timeline
The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph began around 1650 in small communities in the area of Le Puy, France by six women and a Jesuit priest, Jean-Pierre Medaille.
Father Medaille had a unique idea about religious communities of women, different from others at that time. In the 17th century, Sisters were usually in cloistered convents, not out among the people. Father Medaille had a vision to go out into the city, divide up the neighborhoods, find out the…
READ MORE
They began by helping the poor and sick in their homes, providing refuge for widows and orphans, teaching religious education and a trade to girls and young women, and shouldering the burden of social work in villages where there was often no one else to do it. As the Congregation spread…
READ MORE
The French Revolution of 1789 radically affected the visible structures of religious congregations. Church property was confiscated, and Sisters were forbidden to live in convents. The Sisters of St. Joseph were dispersed; some were imprisoned, some were guillotined, and others went into hiding.
When order was restored, Cardinal Joseph Fesch called Jeanne Fontbonne, one of the Sisters who had been imprisoned and scheduled for execution, to re-establish and lead the new Congregation. In 1806, the Congregation was refounded in Lyon, France, not far from the original foundation in Le Puy. Encouraged by Napoleon,…
READ MORE
Mother St. John sent six Sisters to the United States in 1836 to meet the needs of the people as they made their way westward. They arrived at Carondelet, near St. Louis, Missouri in 1836.
Establishing independent congregations as they moved to new areas became a pattern. The Sisters in the U.S. became an independent congregation in 1847, and 25 independent groups were eventually established in the United States and Canada from the original Carondelet foundation. Each added a spirit unique to its foundation while…
READ MORE
Within the space of a few years, Sister Agnes Spencer, one of the first to arrive in the U.S., moved from Carondelet to Philadelphia, PA, to assist at an orphanage; to Wheeling, WV, to direct a hospital; to Canandaigua, NY, to establish a new foundation, and then to Buffalo where…
READ MORE
On May 24, 1860, at the invitation of Bishop Joshua Young, Mother Agnes came to the Erie Diocese where she assumed the direction of St. Ann’s Academy for Girls in Corsica, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. She was accompanied by Sisters Protais Duboille, Cesarine Mulvey, and Augustine Spencer (her sister).
The Sisters welcomed their first postulant, Mary Hoag, in Corsica, and two Sisters, Victorine Lequier and an unnamed postulant, are buried there.
By 1864, Mother Agnes and the Sisters made their way to Meadville, PA, and established St. Joseph Convent. They opened St. Joseph Orphanage in Meadville.
Following a tragic train wreck, the Sisters opened the orphanage doors to the injured, underscoring the need for a hospital in the area.
At the request of the Bishop, the Sisters made their way to Erie. On August 15, 1865, the Sisters opened their first mission in Erie on 4th Street. It combined an orphanage, a small hospital named St. Joseph Hospital (later to become Saint Vincent Hospital), and a school. Within five…
READ MORE
From her own inheritance, Mother Agnes purchased land where the Sisters would build a hospital. To fund the project, the Sisters canvassed the local area soliciting donations and opened St. Joseph Hospital in 1870. In 1888, the hospital was renamed Spencer Hospital in honor of Mother Agnes. The hospital still…
READ MORE
The orphanage relocated to a larger building on 3rd Street and became the Sisters Motherhouse.
In the early 1870s, a man fell and broke his leg in front of the Sister’s Motherhouse. He was brought in and cared for by the Sisters. Soon, the demand for the Sisters’ nursing services became so great that Mother Agnes Spencer sought permission from Bishop Mullen to build a…
READ MORE
In March 1883, the Sisters purchased five acres of land on 26th and Ash Streets from John Gensheimer. Plans were made to erect a building that would be a home for the aged. On September 21, 1884, the Sisters opened Saint Mary’s Old Folks Home in Erie.
Fr. Thomas Casey provided land and some funds for the Sisters of St. Joseph to establish Villa Maria Academy as a nonsectarian Academy to provide young women with a liberal, systematic, thorough, cultural Christian education. The Sisters opened Villa Maria Academy for grades 1-12 in 1892.
The Bishop asked the Sisters of St. Joseph to staff Harborcreek Training School, a school for boys who were court-ordered to attend.
Villa Maria Academy was restructured as two separate entities: Villa Maria Elementary for grades 1-8 and Villa Maria Academy for grades 9-12.
The Sisters founded Villa Maria College, the first Catholic college for women in northwestern Pennsylvania. Villa Maria College is now part of Gannon University
Villa Maria Academy was one of the first boarding and private day schools in Erie. Within 8 years of opening, the school had an enrollment of 85 boarders from 15 states and an additional 100 day students. The school was referred to by some as a “grand educational institution.”
The 1940s and 50s were a period of growth and expansion for the Sisters of St. Joseph. Numerous new ministry opportunities presented themselves, and a steady number of women answered the call to become Sisters of St. Joseph.
During this time, new Diocesan schools and catechetical centers were opened that required staffing by Sisters, and the need for social services programs was recognized. The Sisters of St. Joseph helped establish the Diocesan Office of Catholic Social Services, an accredited social service agency licensed by the PA Dept. of…
READ MORE
The Sisters established the first collegiate School of Nursing in northwestern Pennsylvania at Villa Maria College.
The Sisters opened the new location of Villa Maria Academy for Girls on West 8th Street in Millcreek Township. The new schools would accommodate 600-700 students.
Following Vatican II, Sisters were permitted to suggest ministries in response to needs they saw or to which they felt personally called. This led to an expansion of ministries, including Diocesan administration, pastoral ministry, religious education, social outreach programs, care for high-risk babies, and shelter for homeless men.
In 1962, during Mother Aurelia’s term, the Second Vatican Council opened. This was a pivotal time in the Church’s history with monumental implications for religious congregations. Vatican II called for a renewal of religious life that included a return to the Gospel, a return to the original inspiration of congregations’…
READ MORE
At the same time as Vatican II began its monumental changes, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania had the highest number of vowed Sisters at any point in its history.
To assist SSJ congregations in ensuring that they were living in accordance with the intent of Fr. Medaille and the first six women, the U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph organized a research team in 1969 to return to France and study the Congregation’s primitive documents. Sisters Leonie Shanley…
READ MORE
As a point of history, the dress worn by the original six women in France was simple in style and was not a religious habit. Instead, they adopted the clothes worn by widows in their locality, which varied from town to country and from one region to another. Repeated wars…
READ MORE
During this time, Sr. Joseph John McDonald began fostering newborn babies awaiting adoption through Catholic Charities. Sr. Joseph John and Sr. Mary Irene Lunger cared for more than 122 babies during their 28-year ministry.
Sisters Marilyn Zimmerman established Community House, a home for women and their children in transition.
Post Vatican II ministry expansion also led to several Sisters serving in foreign missions, including Ethiopia, Tanzania, Brazil, India, Israel, El Salvador, and Australia.
After many Sisters requested that the Congregation permit contemporary dress as an option in addition to traditional and modified habits, the decision was made in 1975 to allow contemporary dress.
In the summer of 1975, the Congregation welcomed the Federation Research team to Villa Maria College to continue its work. Fr. Marius Nepper, SJ, of France who had mentored the team’s initial work was present to lead the group in its study.
Preparation for the 1981 Chapter included an in-depth study of associées, a form of membership in the early days of the Sisters history that was discovered during the post Vatican II research in France. This resulted in a proposal to establish Associate membership in Erie. It was presented for discussion…
READ MORE
On Good Friday, April 1, 1983, a rainbow appeared as Sister Benita Repasky,67, drove into the Shenango Valley to establish a new ministry to serve the poor. Her notes indicate, “I seemed to hear these words . . . ‘My child, take my hand, and I shall bring you into…
READ MORE
St. Patrick’s Haven was founded in 1984 as a small, grassroots homeless shelter that began in response to a need. A parishioner of St. Patrick’s parish became aware of men sleeping on benches near the rectory and on sidewalk grates outside Hamot Hospital. The parishioner contacted Sister Mary Fromknecht, SSJ,…
READ MORE
Peter Lyons, owner of the Marketplace Grill restaurant in downtown Erie, and Sister Theresa Marie Bohren, SSJ, teamed up to offer dinner at the restaurant on Thanksgiving Day to those who might otherwise not enjoy the tradition. Nearly 140 meals were served that first year, and the ministry became an…
READ MORE
The Sisters dedicated their new Community Living Center (CLC) in Millcreek Township, just outside of Erie.
In 1993, a generous benefactor donated a house in southwest Erie to the Sisters of St. Joseph with the provision that it be used for ministry. That gift, and the timely need for housing for disadvantaged women and children, led to the establishment of Bethany House. “Bethany” means house of…
READ MORE
In 1995, the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Benedictine Sisters, and the Sisters of Mercy collaborated to establish Erie DAWN in response to a housing crisis for women and children in Erie. In partnership with area landlords, Erie DAWN provides safe, affordable, independent, transitional housing for low-income women and children.…
READ MORE
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania announced the beginning of the Courage To Come Back campaign in the Erie Diocese. The idea originated at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh and expanded to Philadelphia, Buffalo, Toronto, Erie, and Vancouver. The initiative’s purpose was two-fold: to honor individuals who showed…
READ MORE
Since 1997, when it was founded by a group of SSJ Associates of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania in Meadville, PA, St. James Haven has been a place of welcome refuge for homeless men in the Meadville area.
The year 2000 was alive with changes for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania. Following a chapter mandate, one of those changes was the addition of lay professionals to the Congregation’s administrative staff, positions that the Sisters had historically held. Stephanie Hall was the first layperson hired in…
READ MORE
Erie’s Historic Little Italy neighborhood, once a thriving mecca of culture and community, had become distressed and plagued with poverty, crime, blight, vacant buildings, and struggling families. The Sisters of St. Joseph began a grassroots ministry to address the neighborhood’s needs. Sisters Mary Herrmann and Carol Wilcox developed an innovative…
READ MORE
Saint Mary’s at Asbury Ridge Saint Mary’s at Asbury Ridge opened on a beautiful 34-acre site in Millcreek Township on October 2, 2001. The facility included 74 apartments, an Alzheimer’s residential living unit for 16 residents, and an 80-bed skilled nursing facility with private rooms.
Sister Andre’ Feulner began serving in ministry in Labrador in Newfoundland in remote St. Augustin, a small one-time fishing village on the St. Augustin River, population 600. Sister Andre’s ministry of presence included performing baptisms, weddings, funerals, and Sunday services, including homilies, in the isolated community that was visited by…
READ MORE
Sister Mary Kay McNelis, SSJ, began a Christian Meditation ministry at the Sisters of St. Joseph Community Living Center. Based on the teachings of Dom John Main, OSB, one of the great spiritual teachers of our time and the founder of the World Community of Christian Meditation (WCCM), the ministry…
READ MORE
Sister Mary Bernard Sheridan, one of the Congregation’s earliest members, was honored posthumously when an official state historical marker was unveiled on the property of Saint Vincent Health Center on Friday, September 26, 2003. Sister Mary Bernard Sheridan began studying nursing at Saint Vincent Hospital in 1877 and became a…
READ MORE
The Erie Diocesan Sesquicentennial Celebration, with the theme “Share the Faith,” included a lit torch making its way through the Diocese. The torch arrived at the Sisters’ Community Living Center in September 2003 during an outdoor liturgy and celebration. This event led to the annual Circle of Friends celebration, an…
READ MORE
Josette Gocella, SSJ, began serving as an administrator of the new International Centre of the Congregations of St. Joseph. The Centre’s Governing Committee invited Sr. Josette and two other Sisters of St. Joseph to serve on its staff. The International Centre is a collaborative effort of the worldwide Federation of…
READ MORE
The Sisters assisted in organizing a Human Trafficking Conference at locations throughout Erie and Crawford Counties. The conference featured Kevin Bales, Ph.D., who at the time was the world’s leading expert on contemporary slavery and president of Free The Slaves, a non-profit organization working to end slavery worldwide. He also…
READ MORE
After thoroughly reviewing the Congregation’s education ministry and the future of Villa Maria Academy and Villa Maria Elementary, a task force recommendation was to explore a cooperative relationship with Cathedral Preparatory School, an all-male and only diocesan high school in Erie. Villa Maria Academy was also recommended to return to…
READ MORE
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania began a year-long celebration of the Congregation’s 150th anniversary of service to the Erie Diocese on May 23, 2010, with a Liturgy at Saint Peter Cathedral, Bishop Donald W. Trautman, S.T.D., S.S.L. as Celebrant. A reception at the Bayfront Convention Center followed…
READ MORE
During its 150th anniversary celebration, the Sisters hosted a dedication and open house of the Congregation’s new administration building adjacent to the Sisters’ Community Living Center in Millcreek.
To be effective and sustainable, the Sisters of St. Joseph announced the affiliation of Saint Vincent Health System with AHN/Highmark. Most Catholic hospitals nationwide have had to join forces with other providers to build larger, healthier systems. In many cases, this has involved detaching from their founding Congregations, and the…
READ MORE
Eager to respond to the needs of another neighborhood experiencing many of the same issues that were prevalent 14 years ago in the area served by the SSJ Neighborhood Network WEST, the SSJ Neighborhood Network EAST was established to focus on the needs in an area defined as East 16th…
READ MORE
On January 1, the Sisters of St. Joseph began a new ministry: the SSJ Mission & Ministries Foundation. This new endeavor is the fundraising and grantmaking arm of the Congregation with a fundamental purpose of uniting with community members to advance the SSJ mission—today and for generations to come. The…
READ MORE
On January 17, 2016, nine women pronounced a vow of fidelity to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania at the Sisters’ Community Living Center. These women, who are the first agrégées of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania, include Cindy Brown, Arlene Chaney, Charlene Kellerman, Jeanne…
READ MORE
In 2016, the Sisters announced that Villa Maria Elementary School, a longtime Catholic elementary school in Erie that the Sisters of St. Joseph founded, would close at the end of the 2016-17 academic year. The announcement was made following thorough consideration and review of several factors, most notably the Erie…
READ MORE
Saint Mary’s East is sold; Sisters continue sponsorship of Saint Mary’s at Asbury Ridge.
Explore the commemorative book published on the hospital’s 100th anniversary in 1975. Click to view the first 100 years.
