Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston
Throw Open the Windows! Digitizing the Experiences of the Sisters of Saint Joseph During the Era of Vatican II
Detail from:
A. Catherine Murphy, CSJ
Throw Open the Windows! Digitizing the Experiences of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston During the Era of Vatican II was a project completed in 2024. It digitized a collection of open-reel audio recordings and cassette tapes, including oral history interviews conducted from the 1970s-1990s and audio from the congregation's Chapter Meetings in 1968 and 1969. The recordings offer personal experiences of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston, which illustrate the movement of the twentieth century and shed light on the impact the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) had on Catholic religious communities. Of particular interest are interviews of sisters who describe their work in social justice, such as Eustace Caggiano, CSJ, the "Saint of the South End," who ministered to immigrant communities living in the neighborhood surrounding Boston's Cathedral.
The project opens a window for those who have always been curious about the lives of the sisters. Former students of the sisters, researchers interested in American social history, and individuals curious about twentieth century religious life will want to tune in!
Included here at Digital Commonwealth is a selection of the oral history interviews. For a complete finding aid of the project, and for more information on the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston, please visit: csjboston.org.
This project was supported by a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from the Mellon Foundation.
Historical Background: The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston (CSJ) descended from a Catholic religious order of women founded in Le Puy, France in 1650 and was established in Boston in 1873. Fr. Thomas Magennis, a local parish priest, had noticed a great lack in education for Catholic children, especially for deaf and blind children. He wrote to the Archdiocese of Boston asking if he could visit Flushing, New York, specifically the Sisters of St. Joseph, because he had heard they were skilled teachers. Shortly after the Archdiocese agreed to mission a small group of the sisters to help Magennis, four sisters made the arduous journey from Flushing, NY, to the Jamaica Plain neighborhood in Boston, to Fr. Magennis' parish. Mother Regis Casserly, one of the four original founders, ultimately released the community from the oversight of the Flushing congregation to form an independently governed Congregation in Boston. The Congregation has staffed over 125 schools in the Greater Boston area over its history. In the decades following the Second Vatican Council, the Congregation transitioned from a sole focus on education to a wider mission of social justice and ministry work, which it continues to this day.
The project opens a window for those who have always been curious about the lives of the sisters. Former students of the sisters, researchers interested in American social history, and individuals curious about twentieth century religious life will want to tune in!
Included here at Digital Commonwealth is a selection of the oral history interviews. For a complete finding aid of the project, and for more information on the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston, please visit: csjboston.org.
This project was supported by a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from the Mellon Foundation.
Historical Background: The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston (CSJ) descended from a Catholic religious order of women founded in Le Puy, France in 1650 and was established in Boston in 1873. Fr. Thomas Magennis, a local parish priest, had noticed a great lack in education for Catholic children, especially for deaf and blind children. He wrote to the Archdiocese of Boston asking if he could visit Flushing, New York, specifically the Sisters of St. Joseph, because he had heard they were skilled teachers. Shortly after the Archdiocese agreed to mission a small group of the sisters to help Magennis, four sisters made the arduous journey from Flushing, NY, to the Jamaica Plain neighborhood in Boston, to Fr. Magennis' parish. Mother Regis Casserly, one of the four original founders, ultimately released the community from the oversight of the Flushing congregation to form an independently governed Congregation in Boston. The Congregation has staffed over 125 schools in the Greater Boston area over its history. In the decades following the Second Vatican Council, the Congregation transitioned from a sole focus on education to a wider mission of social justice and ministry work, which it continues to this day.