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The sisters from Orange, California, re-started their CSJ Heritage Pilgrimage since the Covid pandemic. Four sisters from Formation and their director, Sr. Kit Gray participated in the pilgrimage, which was led by Sr. Mary Beth Ingham (superior general) and Sr Jane Delisle. During the two-week pilgrimage, the sisters took buses and trains to visit Annecy, Bas-en-Basset, Monistrol, Carcacassonne, and Le Puy.

Faculty and staff of Mt. St. Mary's University spent June 5-8 in Le Puy as part of their annual pilgrimage to explore and be inspired by the history and spirituality of the Sisters of St. Joseph. University President Ann McElaney-Johnson accompanied the group while Shannon Green, director of the CSJ Institute presented a history of the Sisters of St. Joseph to orient the group to the various sites they would see. This pilgrimage was sponsored by the MSMU Office of the President.

Fifteen young women from Mt St Mary's University in Los Angeles visited France May 26-29. Each day the young women focused on a particular theme in the history and spirituality of the Sisters of St. Joseph and visited significant places in Le Puy. They also shared their reflections about what inspired them or connected them to the founding sisters and talked about their own experiences of community. This pilgrimage was sponsored by the CSJ Institute at MSMU.

The 10-day program (May 3-13) began officially with a French meal. Sisters also gathered around the table to meet each other. They came from India, Burkina Faso, Congo, Vietnam/Norway. Languages were in English and French while staff spoke in a combination of French, English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

On April 20 the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia (USA) made their annual pilgrimage in Le Puy and Lyon, France. They were the first group to come to the International Centre after 2 years of the Covid pandemic.

After four years on the Board, Sister Loretta Manzara said good-bye to Le Puy, at least for a while, as she assumes a new role on the Leadership Team of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. Board members held a reception for Sr. Loretta before the last meal of their three-day meetings held April 6-8. She was given a gift of homemade lace made by Martine, a local lacemaker.

Each program at the International Centre distinguishes itself in some way. For the Two Trinities program, it was rain--every day--and numbers.

This year’s Mission Effectiveness group had more men, more French people, and more Canadians than in previous years and a vibrant commitment to carry on the mission and charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Eight sisters from three continents gathered at the International Centre to spend a week together for the program, "The Lace Is Not Yet Finished."

Seventeen sisters and three translators from 11 countries on five continents came to the Centre for a workshop on archival materials.

Every group that comes to the Centre brings with it a different spirit from all the other groups. The alumni group from Mary Louis Academy of New York City (Jamaica Estates in Queens) was a good example.

The extraordinary group of singers from Avila University of Kansas City provided not only gentle harmonies in four, sometimes eight parts, but powerful crescendos that made it feel like Heaven.

"This house is back in the family," declared President Ann McElaney-Johnson at a June 26 blessing ceremony of Mother St. John Fontbonne's birthplace.

Fifteen pilgrims from the St. Augustine Congregation visited the sacred historical sites of the Sisters of St. Joseph and learned more about SSJ spirituality.

Thomas Donlan had come to Le Puy in order to make a five-day pilgrimage on the Camino. He first stopped at the Centre to learn about the connections between the Sisters of St. Joseph and St. Francis de Sales.

Ten smiling faces from the Philadelphia congregation made a week-long pilgrimage to see and experience sacred sites related to the foundations of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Sister Gemma Dalmasso of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cuneo, Italy, brought three young Congolese sisters from her community and two Italian sisters from Pinerolo, Italy, for a pilgrimage to France.

Sandy and Tracey Arpen have become avid supporters of the Sisters of St. Joseph through their historical research and activism in Mandarin, Florida near Jacksonville.

Forty-five members of the St. Joseph Health System of the Congregation of Orange, CA, came to France to learn more about the origins and spirituality of the Sisters of St. Joseph. They began their pilgrimage with a wine and cheese party at the International Centre.

They came with lunch bags and large containers of food for a picnic and a day-long pilgrimage.