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Cluny today

In 2007 the  Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny celebrated the bicentenary of their foundation which took place on 12 May 1807 the day when Anne Marie Javouhey, their Foundress, together with 8 other young women, made profession in St. Peter’s Church, Chalon-sur-Saone, during a solemn Mass celebrated by the Bishop of the diocese.  On 12 December 1806, Napoleon had granted legal approval to the "Association of Saint Joseph". The bicentenary was celebrated enthusiastically and with great creativity by the Sisters, Associates, and all those connected with our communities the world over.  The most touching moment was without doubt the renewal of vows, made together by all the Sisters of the Congregation, using the same formula, on 12 May.  With the differing times all around the globe it was like a crown of religious consecrations encircling the planet.

 The General Chapter of June 2006 gathered 92 Sisters from all around the world.  They renewed Sister Morag Collins’(Scotland) mandate as Superior General for another six years and elected 8 General Councillors, of 7 nationalities : Seychelles (1st Assistant), France, (2^nd Assistant), Spain, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Angola, and India (south and north). The Orientations for the six years to come deal with Consecration, Vocation, Internationality,  Charism and Community.  The Superior General’s letter of 01 October 2006 calls all the Sisters to an ‘interior journey’ for ‘it is our union with Christ which will make fruitful our apostolates, our words and our actions and this union depends on our willingness to receive God’s grace, that stream of living water, into our lives by the surrender of our lives in every detail to Him.’

 The reports and expositions which presented the life of our 29 provinces and regions showed the great diversity of cultures where the Sisters are inserted, the variety of lifestyles, apostolic activities, and also expectations which remain unfulfilled because of lack of personnel. The rapid pace of change in our societies is creating new needs, exposing new forms of poverty in the fields of education, health, family life and of course on the spiritual level.  This means that the Sisters have to be particularly attentive to the ‘signs of the times’, always ready to adapt, to continue their formation, and above all to listen attentively to the Holy Spirit in prayer.

With this in mind some of our provinces have opened Centres of Spirituality and have had Sisters trained in spiritual accompaniment.  Special care is also given  to the education and promotion of women and young girls.  In India the growing number of Sisters and communities has given rise to a fifth province.  On 15 August 2007, the province of North India was divided into two: the province of North India Plains around Calcutta and that of Northeast India & Nepal.  On the other hand, for several years now there has been only one province in France to which the community of Fribourg in Switzerland is attached.  And the two communities in Italy are now part of the ‘Generalate Group’.

The "life force" is moving from the ‘old’ christian countries towards the ýounger’ Churches.  In 2005, 1005 of the 2890 Sisters are in Asia (India and the Philippines), 565 are in Africa and the Indian Ocean, and 864 in Europe.  And this movement will only increase because vocations are rare in the rich, industrialised nations.

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