With special attention being focused on the vocations lived by men and women religious during the celebration of the 14-month Year of Consecrated Life called for by Pope Francis, Rhode Island Catholic is publishing a series of reflections on religious orders whose members serve in the diocese.
The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny was founded in France, in 1807 by Anne-Marie Javouhey, in Burgundy. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the Catholic faith suffered from the lack of priests and religious leaders who had been persecuted. Schools and churches were closed and the children had no one to teach them about God. Anne-Marie, the daughter of a Burgundian farmer took it upon herself to teach the neighborhood children religion, despite the fact that doing so could bring retribution upon her and her family. Eventually, she began to feel led to religious life and after some trials and disappointments she decided to found her own Congregation. She did this with the blessing of Pope Pius VII himself, as she had spoken of it to him when he visited France.
On May 12, 1807, Anne-Marie and three, of her sisters, along with five other devout lay women, made their vows as Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny. St. Joseph was to be their guardian and protector and Cluny was the name of the town where their first Motherhouse was located.
The education of children and the care of the many orphans after the turmoil of the revolution was to be their mission field. The need was great and the seed produced fruit and her work and followers expanded rapidly. Adapting a fairly new method of education she was able to achieve good results and her work soon came to the attention of the French government who asked for her assistance in their overseas colonies. Anne-Marie had never been far from her beloved Burgundy but she soon learned of the plight of the African natives taken into slavery. In January of 1822, Anne-Marie herself traveled to Senegal to work among the local population. Her love for them and her valiant attempts to better their life was her all-consuming passion.
Despite all the difficulties of travel, distance, climate and the opposition of those who might have been her greatest allies, Anne-Marie persevered with her band of sisters. Her Congregation grew and became a vitalizing force among the missionary lands of the day. Her efforts were many. Finally in her seventies, she became quite ill and weak. On July 15, 1851 she quietly went home to God whose Will she had sought all her life. On October 15, 1950, Pope Pius XII beatified her.
As the numbers continued to grow, the Sisters found themselves moving farther afield to distant mission lands, especially those colonized by the French. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny came to the Diocese of Providence in 1950 at the invitation of the Provincial of the Oblate Fathers who requested French-speaking sisters to help with a retreat house in Manville, R.I. Three sisters worked there until lack of personnel forced them to leave in 1954. In the meantime, Bishop Russell McVinney had, in February of 1952, offered the use of a house in Newport, located on the James Estate, to the sisters in return for sisters to assist with the duties in the cathedral rectory. Four sisters arrived that same year. Over the years, several changes of sisters occurred and they continued their devoted ministry of caring for the priests and visiting the sick and elderly of the area surrounding Cathedral Square. Their ministry came to an end in January 2009 when sisters retired and we could no longer maintain a community there.
In 1953, the Novitiate and Provincialate were opened on Brenton Road, Newport.
As a means of support for the new venture the sisters opened a Kindergarten in one of the existing buildings on the property. The demand for Catholic education was apparent and the school grew gradually, grade by grade, with several renovations throughout the years. Cluny School, as it is commonly called, continues today on Brenton Road, with Pre-school through Eighth grade, and is proud of its contribution to Catholic education, numbering many successful graduates around the country. Each September, the annual Cluny Fair, begun in 1961, is held at the school grounds and reunites many past pupils and friends.
Also located in Newport, in the Point section, was Stella Maris House, formerly staffed by the Holy Ghost Sisters. In 1954, the Cluny Sisters took it over at the invitation of Bishop McVinney and continued to run it as a convalescent and retirement home for ladies. With increasing requirements for fire and safety codes, it became apparent that Stella Maris could no longer continue as a retirement home, and it was sold in 1982. Today it functions as a lovely guesthouse by the sea looking out to the Newport Bridge.
In 1976, the Mercy Sisters left St. Margaret’s Home on Dean Street in Providence, a hostel for working girls and a retirement home for ladies. Three Cluny Sisters replaced them and continued there until 1985 when the Diocese could no longer support its upkeep.
Some of the sisters established a residence in the former rectory of St. John’s Parish and continued parish ministry from this location. In 1984, plans to close St. John’s were completed. Again in 1986, two sisters went to St. Augustine’s School in Providence as principal and teacher and continued to work there until 1991 when the declining vocations forced them to be transferred elsewhere.
For several years our sisters worked in the parishes of St. Peter’s, Warwick; St. Mark’s in Jamestown, and at St. Anthony’s in Portsmouth in parish education, administration and teaching.
At present, we continue our presence in Rhode Island with Cluny School in Newport, serving as Trustees and volunteers and working with a dedicated board to continue our service to the Church through Catholic education. The Provincial House, located in Middletown, serves as our main headquarters for the sisters of the Province. Javouhey House, located in Newport, is in St. Augustin’s Parish. We have been in St. Augustin’s Parish for more than sixty years and have been involved in religious education, pastoral ministry and volunteer work. At present, four sisters reside in the parish and continue these ministries. To learn more about Blessed Anne-Marie Javouhey or the congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny please contact: Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, 7 Restmere Terrace, Middletown, R.I. 02840. www.clunyUSandCanada.org
