Welcome!

Retracing our Founders' Footsteps:
A Voyage to Reflect on the Charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph

Twelve members of the Elms College community recently returned from a 10-day pilgrimage to France (October 16-25, 2006), where they visited the birth sites of the founders of the college, the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The pilgrims visited Paris, Chartres, Lyon, Annecy, and Le-Puy-en-Velay.

Paris is the site of the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, which shows the Vincentian influence on the SSJs, and the pilgrimage centers Basilica of the Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame du Paris, and Sainte Chapelle.

Chartres is the location of a cathedral famous as a pilgrimage center.

Lyon is the place where the congregation was refounded after the French Revolution, and the group visited the motherhouse of the SSJs there established by Mother St. John Fontbonne.

In Annecy they visited the monastery begun by Jane Frances de Chantal and the Church of St. Francois, with the tombs of Francis de Sales and Jane Frances.

Le Puy is the site of the original foundation of the SSJs, and the group visited the motherhouse there as well as the Cathedral of Notre Dame du Puy, where the original sisters prayed.

This web site features my daily updates and information on the places we visited.

Annie Emanuelli
Elms College marketing writer/editor

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License.