The Congregation of the Sisters of
St Joseph of Annecy was established in Annecy in May 1833 by Monseigneur Rey,
Bishop of Annecy. The Congregation is one of the many which stem from the
original foundation of Le Puy, France, in the 17th century.
The history of the Sisters of St
Joseph is a story of dedicated service, loving presence and endurance of
many hardships. It is a story of God at work in very ordinary lives and
achieving extraordinary things.
The story begins in the middle of
the 17th Century, in the Massif Central of France The key figures
in this foundation were a Jesuit priest, Fr Jean Pierre Medaille, Henri de
Maupas the Bishop of Le Puy and a small group of pious women.
In the beginning of the 17th
Century St Francis de Sales aware of the needs of the poor people around him
attempted a new innovation- religious outside the cloister. He founded the
Visitation Order, whose members combined works of mercy to the poor, with
prayer. He called it the Great Design. He met with endless opposition and
finally the Visitandines were forced to become enclosed like all other
religious.
