The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, Calif., have concluded a yearlong centennial celebration, which they marked with jubilee prayer services and events at the ministries their congregation founded.
The congregation began in Orange in June 1912, when Mother Bernard Gosselin and seven Sisters of St. Joseph arrived in Eureka, Calif., from LaGrange, Ill., to establish a school. The 1918 flu epidemic spurred them to provide home care to the sick. Two years later they opened their first hospital, in Eureka. The sisters' ministry today includes the 14 hospitals and other health care facilities that make up St. Joseph Health.