Our History

The first Sister of St Joseph sensed the spirit of a new world
in a way that has left its mark on the history of
Australia and New Zealand.

The Sisters of St Joseph Lochinvar
emerged from the community
which gathered around
Julian Tenison Woods and Mary MacKillop
at Penola in South Australia
and began to live according to a rule
which Julian wrote in Adelaide in May 1867.

From this beginning a foundation
was made at Perthville NSW on 16 July 1872.
Bishop Matthew Quinn changed the character of the
Institute in his diocese of Bathurst
from one governed by Central Authority
as upheld by Rome in 1874 to a diocesan institute.

From Perthville a group of four young women
at the invitation of Bishop James Murray.
came to Lochinvar in the Diocese of Maitland
on 2 September 1883.
In subsequent years Sisters have established
convents and schools throughout
the Diocese of Maitland Newcastle and beyond.

For more detailed Josephite history click here.

References

• Our Constitutions, A Future and a Hope, p.2