Ready for Any Good Work

History of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia 19441999

By (author) Mary Helen Beirne

Not available to order

Publication date:

13 May 2015

Length of book:

206 pages

Publisher

UPA

ISBN-13: 9780761865858

This new history of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, focuses on the growth and evolution of the Congregation through the years 1944–1999. This book attempts to look at the Congregation, an ecclesial group of Catholic women religious, from the particular perspectives of spirituality, ministry, and governance. This history provides a view of the experience of women religious within a particular time and place. The Catholic in the pew and researchers alike will gain insight into the life of the Philadelphia Sisters of Saint Joseph in this important era of their transformation.

Acknowledgments
Preface
Chapter 1Forging Our Identity: 1650–1944
Chapter 2 Embracing Our Identity: 1944–1965
Chapter 3Rediscovering Our Mission: 1965–1969
Chapter 4Renewing Our Mission: 1969–1979
Chapter 5Expanding Our Mission: 1979–1989
Chapter 6Deepening Our Vision: 1989–1999
Timeline: 1944–1999
General Councils: 1944–1999

The Sisters of Saint Joseph play an integral role in the story of Philadelphia Catholicism. Ready for Any Good Work documents the Congregation’s ministries and history . . . in light of Vatican II’s mandate to read the “signs of the time” and the major changes taking place in the Church and Philadelphia during the latter half of the twentieth century. Readers will be especially pleased to note that the authors are not afraid to include topics that may be controversial or painful, such as the numbers of women who left the Congregation in the 1960s and 1970s. Ready for Any Good Work is a valuable addition to the growing history of women religious in the United States.