We trace our roots to 1650, when six women and a Jesuit priest formed a religious community
in Le Puy, France.
In 1836, six Sisters traveled from Lyon, France, to St. Louis, Mo., in what was then frontier territory. The Sisters quickly branched out across the United States and Canada.
In 1883, Mother Stanislaus Leary, former superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester, N.Y., came to Kansas with a small group of Sisters. They set up a school in Newton and then in Concordia, which became the Motherhouse for the new congregation.
As the frontier gave way to towns, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia went wherever we could serve, in schools, hospitals, orphanages and homes for the elderly.
The congregation enjoyed its greatest period of expansion during the first half of the 20th century as the Sisters reached out across the United States.
Then came the 1960s, a period of reassessment ushered in by Vatican II. The challenge to congregations was to return to their original spiritual heritage and to an intense living of the Gospel in the contemporary world.
As the needs of the late 20th century changed, so did the ministries of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
In the first decades of the 21st century, the Sisters are drawn to missions of mercy, social justice and human rights, working for change in the world wherever cries for love, help and mercy may beckon.
Today there are over 70 women in our congregation, and we welcome associates and agrégées as we seek new ways to bring our charism to life. We serve in six cities in Kansas, plus others in California, Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Canada.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia have also supported a mission in Brazil for 60 years.
Follow the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia on Social Media:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/csjconcordiaks
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/csjconcordiaks
Website: https://www.csjkansas.org/
