Last weekend, in Whanganui, several hundred Sisters of St Joseph of Nazareth and Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart gathered to celebrate their coming together as one religious congregation.
Sister Catherine Shelton, of Whanganui’s Sisters of St Joseph of Nazareth, said the weekend was a symbolic one for everyone.
“It has been an amazing experience. There were so many people here and not just the Sisters of St Joseph but their families and friends as well,” Sister Catherine said.
“And it was such a joyful occasion. We often meet up but there’s nothing like an event like this to really lift your spirits.”
The two congregations had a common origin.
The separation came about when in 1876, Bishop Quinn desired the Josephites in his diocese of Bathurst to be diocesan and thus under his authority,
The Sisters that remained in Quinn’s diocese at Perthville became a separate congregation. The Sisters of St Joseph of Whanganui were founded in 1880 from Perthville, and became one of the five diocesan congregations that later made up the Australian-New Zealand Federation of Sisters of St Joseph.
Source
- Wanganui Cronicle
- Welcom
- Image: Bevan/Conley