SSJ HISTORY

The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Wheeling was established on May 4, 1860 by Richard Vincent Whelan, first Bishop of Wheeling. This Congregation is one of many which stem from the original foundation in Le Puy, France in the mid-seventeenth century, when women gathered in community to live out a shared charism of unity which emphasizes the love of God and neighbor without distinction. Under the spiritual direction of Jean Pierre Medaille, SJ our first sisters embraced a life of continual self-emptying love, a "little design" of consecrated apostolic life for women outside the cloister.    The Congregation spread quickly throughout the dioceses of France, was disbanded during the French Revolution, and was restored by Mother St. John Fontbonne in the diocese of Lyons, France in 1808. In response to a request from the first Bishop of St. Louis to begin a school for the deaf, six Sisters of Saint Joseph from the Lyons Congregation began their journey to America. On March 25, 1836, these sisters established the first Congregation of Sisters of Saint Joseph in the United States in Carondelet, Missouri.   From this foundation, the sisters moved to many parts of the United States and Canada in response to the needs of their time.  In the early part of 1853 Bishop Richard Vincent Whelan, first Bishop of Wheeling, requested sisters to aid in the work of his new diocese.  Four sisters arrived in Wheeling on April 13, 1853 to care for patients in the newly-established hospital. In May of that year two more women joined the other sisters.  These six sisters formed the nucleus of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Wheeling.
	In 1860, the Wheeling community was made an independent Congregation by Bishop Whelan.   The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Wheeling continue to serve the people of West Virginia-- and to reach out to the people of God through a variety of ministries.