The key foundations of interest to
us, Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy, are Chambery and Pigenerol. The
community at Chambery was founded from Lyon and later Chambery sent Sisters
to found Pignerol. Mother St John had already opened four houses in the
Annecy dioceses and they still remained under her care. Evian and Megeve in
1822, Sallanches and Thorens in 1827. Mgr.Rey, who became the Bishop of
Annecy had served both in Chambery and Pignerol and he had known and
appreciated the Sisters of St Joseph. He saw in the town of Annecy the
distress of the poor and the children roaming the streets with no education
and he longed to bring Sisters of St Joseph from Pignerol to help. The one
great obstacle to his project was that he had no finances and no building
for them. He had sold any valuables he had to help the poor in Pignerol.
Just at this time a wealthy lady
attended the Lenten Sermons in St Maurice Church in Annecy. The very poor
children were on the look out for her to beg, and she never refused. They
were in rags and unkempt because they lived in poor hovels. The more she saw
of them the more she made up her mind to do something to help them. She had
helped the Bishop when he was in Pigenerol. She wrote to him and enclosed a
substantial sum to start a work in education and remarked on the good work
she had seen done by the Sisters of St Joseph.
