Le Puy, France, 1650: six women are recognized as the first members of a religious congregation to be known as the Sisters of St. Joseph. Members of this new order did not wear religious habits or live in a cloister, but lived integrated in the secular community and dedicated themselves to the needs of those around them. These earliest Sisters taught the trade of lacemaking to underprivileged women in the community as a source of income, a crystallization of the ethos that has remained the order’s enduring mission: responding to the needs of the time, serving the dear neighbor, and accomplishing all of which woman is able.
The 1905 founding of the then-College of St. Catherine was a radical statement of vision by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJs), who by that early point had already been operating several women’s training programs and hospitals in response to St. Paul community needs. Women’s institutions at that time focused mostly on producing “good” wives and mothers. Fighting dismissal of women-focused initiatives at every turn, Mother Antonia McHugh and the CSJs were determined to build an institution where women could claim an education and excel in scholarship and career.
The Sisters were essential to all aspects of the development of the small then-college, conducting all duties of teaching, administration, and operation. Over the succeeding decades of growth, the CSJs have continued as faculty members, advisors, and community partners. In recent times, in particular, the CSJs’ generous gift of the former Minneapolis campus land to the University allowed for the merging of two physical campuses in 2017.
For their vision of the future, their historic commitment to justice and a better world, and their dedication to the needs of our communities, we celebrate and thank St. Catherine University founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.