[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 80 (Thursday, May 31, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E914-E915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF ORANGE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 31, 2012

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my 
colleagues Representatives Loretta Sanchez, Ed Royce, John Campbell, 
Gary Miller, Jerry Lewis, Randy Neugebauer and Lynn Woolsey in 
recognition of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, one of the youngest 
of the American congregations, for its historic and ongoing 
contributions to the proliferation of education and health care across 
the country. The assembly traces its roots through the St. Joseph 
congregations of La Grange, Illinois; Concordia, Kansas; Rochester, New 
York; and Carondelet, Missouri, all of which are traced back to around 
1650 in Le Puy, France.
  The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange was established in 1912 by Mother 
Bernard Gosselin when she and eight sisters left La Grange, Illinois, 
near Chicago with 60 cents among them to establish a school in Eureka, 
California. With the outbreak of the flu epidemic in 1918 the Sisters 
expanded their ministries from teaching to include providing for the 
medical needs of the community, and opened St. Joseph Hospital in 
Eureka in 1920.
  By 1922, the Sisters were teaching in several Southern California 
areas and recognized that the community could better develop its 
ministries by moving the Motherhouse to Orange, California.
  The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange are dedicated to transcending 
language, culture and access-to-care barriers to bring healthcare to 
people in need throughout the world. The Sisters extended their work in 
health, education and religious instruction to the people of Papua New 
Guinea and Australia in the 1940s.
  Today, the congregation's commitment to education is expressed in a 
variety of forms including elementary, secondary, university and other 
adult education. The organization remains committed to the cause of 
promoting and providing an outstanding level of health care through 
acute-care hospitals, rehabilitation programs, home health care, 
community education, primary care clinics, and wellness programs.
  The works of the congregation have expanded beyond education and 
health care to also include such things as helping new immigrants and 
women in need, feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, and 
fostering spiritual development.
  As a result of their dedication to the same spirit of charity, 
simplicity, and humility characteristic of the Sisters of St. Joseph 
throughout the world and Mother Bernard's further guiding words of 
faith, foresight and flexibility, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange 
help thousands of people in need each year.
  Mister Speaker, it is appropriate at this time that we recognize and 
thank the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange for their dedication and 
service to the people of California and the world. We congratulate the 
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange on their 100th anniversary, on the 
occasion of their 100 year Jubilee.

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