The Philadelphia chapter of the story of the Sisters of
Saint Joseph begins with Julie Alexis Fournier who was drawn
to the French Sisters of Saint Joseph by her desire to serve
as a missionary to native peoples in the U.S. In 1837 Sister
Saint John Fournier (Julie), a 22-year-old novice, began
a 5-month sea voyage to Missouri in the company of Sister
Celestine, 400 soldiers and 40 officers. After a yellow
fever quarantine in Martinique, she arrived hungry from
the rigors of travel. Because she was dressed in contemporary
clothes, she had to prove her identity to the bishop. She
began conversing in sign language which she had studied
in preparation for work among persons with deafness. Seizing
the moment, Julie asked for a piece of bread.
This passionate
and practical woman would continue to ask for
and share bread with anyone in need: from children
of slaves on the river frontier of St. Louis
to native people and French-speaking Catholics
in the wilderness of St. Paul.
Mother Saint
John Fournier
Within
four years of founding the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia
in 1847, she administered an orphanage and a home for widows
and opened a hospital and a school.
Because of her inspiration
and the labors of thousands of Sisters of Saint Joseph who
followed, our Catholic Congregation of 1100 Sisters of Saint
Joseph of Philadelphia continues to respond to “any
good work” in the service of people from Alaska to
Peru.
