Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston Elect New Leadership Team

The members of the new Leadership Team of the Sisters of St. Joseph, pictured left to right, are Sisters Lee Hogan, Marian Batho, Denise Kelly, Betsy Conway, Cathy Clifford, and Judith Costello. Click here to view a slideshow of our election weekend.

BRIGHTON — Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston and associates gathered in at their Motherhouse in Brighton March 8-11, 2018, for the election of the six-member leadership team who will serve the congregation for the next five years. The members of the new team who will begin their term of leadership at the end of June are Sisters Lee Hogan, CSJ, President; Catherine Clifford, CSJ, Assistant President; Marian Batho, CSJ, First Councilor; Judith Costello, CSJ, Second Councilor; Betsy Conway, CSJ, Third Councilor; and Denise Kelly, CSJ, Fourth Councilor.

The election process began on Thursday, March 8, with two days of prayer, discernment, and contemplative dialogue. On Saturday morning, in the name of all who gathered, Sister Rosemary Brennan, CSJ, the current president of the Sisters of St. Joseph, welcomed Bishop Mark O’Connell, who presided at the 9:00 a.m. Mass of the Holy Spirit. During his homily Bishop Mark said, “We summon the Holy Spirit….May it [the Spirit] burn in our hearts, purifying each of you to listen to all voices – all colors. May you be like candles that give of themselves for the flame. To shine so that you may indeed strengthen your mission today, strengthen your spirituality, strengthen your relationships.”

In looking ahead to her ministry as president of the congregation, Sister Lee said, “We live in a divided world and know our charism is so needed in our Church and world. So we take it as a solemn obligation to further our charism in the world. We’re living in that middle space between a past over and gone and a future yet to come. While none of us can see the future clearly, we are pilgrims with a purpose and a journey toward the God of the future.”

The March 8-11, 2018, election weekend was part of a year-long process that also included weekends in September, October, January, and February. The theme for the year-long Chapter, Impelled by God’s Inclusive Love, centered around prayer, discernment, and discussion about how the mission and spirituality of the congregation is to be lived during the next five years. Through this process, the sisters and associates reflected on their life, mission, and ministry as Sisters of Saint Joseph in response to the needs of today’s Church and world.

During the October weekend, participants reaffirmed their vision for the next five years and identified their commitment to strengthen mission, strengthen the spiritual, strengthen relationships for mission, and tell the story of how they are impelled by God’s inclusive love. The selection process for new leadership focused on who are the women who can best empower all sisters and associates to live this vision at this time in history.

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The Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston is a Congregation of vowed religious women who, together with their associates, minister in the greater Boston area and beyond. They trace their roots from LePuy, France (1651), Lyon, France (1807), St. Louis, MO (1836) and arrived in Boston, MA in 1873. They identify with the cries of a world, stunned by violence and seek to reopen communications in divided communities, to search for shared values, and to empower individuals to explore common ground for the healing of humankind.

For more information visit www.csjboston.org ______________________________________________________________________________________

Contact: 

Joanne Gallagher, CSJ, Director of Communications for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston

617.746.2110 or Joanne.gallagher@csjboston.org