ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION
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The Congregation of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph was conceived within the context of a mystical experience, resulting from God’s divine initiative and the response in freedom of His servant Jérôme Le Royer de la Dauversière.
(Preamble, 2002 Constitutions)
In February 1635, in Notre Dame de Paris Basilica, Jérôme Le Royer was in prayer before the statue of the Blessed Virgin when he saw himself in the presence of the Holy Family and heard Jesus say to Mary:
“Where can I find a faithful servant?” Then the Virgin took Jérôme by the hand and presented him to her Son who said to him: “You will be my faithful servant ... work hard at my mission, my grace is sufficient for you; receive this ring and give one like it to all who consecrate themselves in the Congregation that you are going to establish.”
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He returned to La Flèche, convinced that his project was not a “pious fancy”. God put Marie de la Ferre in contact with him, and she in turn made known her desire to consecrate herself to God for the care of the sick “suffering members of Jesus Christ.”.
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The Daughters of St. Joseph (1636 - 1665)
On May 18, 1636, Mare de la Ferre and Anne Foureau, her cousin, went into the Hotel Dieu of La Flèche, where they formed a community with the three servants of the sick persons there. The Congregation of the Daughters of St. Joseph was born; awaiting the approbation of their constitutions, the Daughters were members of the Confraternity of St. Joseph which Jérôme had founded at the beginning of 1636.
In 1643, the first constitutions of the congregation were approved and on January 22, 1644, Marie de la Ferre and her eleven (11) companions made simple vows for one year in the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Joseph. Then they proceeded to the election of Marie de la Ferre as superior of the newly-born community.
He returned to La Flèche, convinced that his project was not a “pious fancy”. God put Marie de la Ferre in contact with him, and she in turn made known her desire to consecrate herself to God for the care of the sick “suffering members of Jesus Christ.”.
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Evolution and transformation of the Congregation through the centuries
Mr. Jérôme Le Royer entered into the movement of his time begun by Francis de Sales and Vincent de Paul who wanted women consecrated to God by simple vows, in order that they might be free to leave their convents to respond to the suffering and misery around them. But only Mr. Vincent, with the Daughters of Charity, could maintain the form of life that he had set out for them; Francis de Sales, “the mild Bishop of Geneva,” acquiesced to the requirements of the Council of Trent and his Visitation Congregation became a monastic order with solemn vows; it was the same for the Institute founded by Jérôme Le Royer, a simple lay person.
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Re-foundation or Reform? A Monastic Order (1659 - 1924)
In the 1650's, with the support of a group of Daughters of St. Joseph, wanting to become “real religious”, Bishop Henry Arnault, the new Bishop of the Diocese of Angers, took on the reform of the congregation.
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A first step was taken in May 1659, before the departure of the first three Sisters for Montreal. Gathered in La Flèche, the representatives from the different houses then in existence (Laval, Baugé Moulins and La Flèche), unanimously decided that in the future, after eight years of temporary vows, all the sisters would pronounce perpetual vows; and, even if they were not yet monks with solemn vows, they would promise to observe absolute cloister. The congregation became a monastic order and would remain so until the beginning of the 20th century.
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The reform was completed in 1666, when, at the request of Bishop Arnaud, a Decree of Pope Alexander VII transformed the congregation into a cloistered Order, that of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph. Some sisters, wanting to remain faithful to the spirit of the founder, did not accept this reform and the future of the congregation was threatened. With time, the number opposed diminished and in 1694, all the sisters who stayed pronounced solemn vows. The congregation became a monastic order and would keep this status until the beginning of the 20th century.
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The Reform of the 20th Century
In conformity with the new 1917 Code of Canon Law, the Constitutions were revised and approved by the Sacred Congregation for Religious in 1924. The Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph returned to the simple vows of their origins and gradually moved away from the monastic regime. This evolution prepared the way for the “Generalate”, the union of all houses under one central administration. This union became a reality in stages between 1946 and 1965:
1946 - New Brunswick Generalate
1949 - Montreal and Kingston Generalates
1953 - All of the above combined into one American Generalate
1965 - One Generalate for all RHSJ Houses, including those in France
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