[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 60 (Thursday, April 23, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH CELEBRATE 125 YEARS OF MINISTRY

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                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 23, 2009

  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate 
the 125th Anniversary of the Sisters of St. Joseph. I would like to 
share some local history as provided by the Springfield Diocese.
  The Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield were founded in 1883 
following a request by the pastor of St. Patrick's in Chicopee Falls. 
He needed help starting a parish school and so seven sisters from the 
New York Congregation moved to the Springfield Area. The small 
community grew slowly but steadily while educating poor immigrant 
children in central and western Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
  By the mid 1960s, the ranks of the Springfield Congregation swelled 
to over one thousand women. The group had founded or staffed sixty 
schools and had established the Elms College.
  Following the Second Vatican Council, the Sisters restructured their 
community life. Many moved out of convents and into small houses and 
apartments in local towns and cities. Their ministries expanded as 
well. No longer limited to schools, the Sisters worked in prisons, 
parishes, homeless shelters and other social services.
  In the mid 1970s, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Fall River merged with 
the Springfield Congregation. In 2001, the Sisters of St. Joseph of 
Rutland, Vermont joined the community which also covers Worcester, the 
Berkshires, Rhode Island and even Louisiana and Uganda. Today, the 
Springfield Congregation of about 300 Sisters continues to serve the 
people of God through a variety of Ministries.
  Today we salute the Sisters of St. Joseph for 125 years of ministry 
as educations, pastoral ministers, innovators, evangelizers and social 
justice ministers. We thank the Sisters for their loving service to our 
communities. The Sisters of Saint Joseph have provided quality, values-
based Catholic education to countless students and we are grateful for 
their immeasurable impact.

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