The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-05-23

following questions: I. BY whom
was the Order founded? How old is
1t in this country? How many prov
inces of the Order are there in the
United States? 2. How many Sisters
in the United States belonging to that
Order? 8. How many institutions
conducted by the Sisters of st. Joseph
in ST. Paul and Minneapolis?
1. The Congregation of the Sisters
of st. Joseph was founded at lie Puy
in France in the seventeenth century
by Father Medaille, S. j., and was con-
stituted religious community by
Bishop Maupas of that diocese on
October Is, 1850. They were placed
under the patronage of st. Joseph by
solemn episcopal ordinance on March
10, 1861. During the French Revolu-
ton the Sisters were dispersed and
prosecuted, but Notwithstanding this
the Community did not cease to exist.
In 1907, Mother st. John Fontbonne,
who had joined the Community in
1878, and was elected Superior six
y
Etienne as head of a small community
of Sisters of st. Joseph. In 1916, she
was appointed Superior General and
founded the Motherhouse and Novi-
tiate at Lyons. She is regarded as
the second foundress of the Order and
it is to this Motherhouse that the Sis
tiers of st. Joseph in this country trace
their origin. At the request of Bishop
Rosati of st. Louis, Mother st. John
sent six Sisters to the United States
in 1885, They sailed from Hayre on
January II, and arrived in st. Louis
in the following March and estab-
lished their headquarters in little
log cabin at Carondelet, a small village
then about six miles south of St.
Louis, but now forming part of the
city itself. This became the Mother
house of the Sisters of ST. Joseph for
a large part of the United States. In
many of the Eastern dioceses the Sis
tiers of st. Joseph exist as individual
communities, but the Motherhouse at
st. Louis is the head of four of the
Provinces of the Order, namely St.
Louis, Mo-, St. Paul, Mimi, Troy, N.
Y, and Los Angeles, Cal. 2. We do
not know the total number of Sisters
of st. Joseph in the United States.
The latest available statistics show
that in 1910 there were 1902 Sisters
subject to the jurisdiction of the Moth
erhouse in st. Louis. At present there
are about 600 Sisters including postu-
lants and novices in the Province of
st. Paul. 8. In st. Paul they have
charge of eleven parochial schools in
addition to the College Of st. Cath
crime, st. Joseph's Academy, St.
Agatha's Conservatory of Music and
Art, St. Joseph's Hospital, and the
Catholic Orphan Asylum for Girls. In
Minneapolis, four parochial schools
are under the direction of the Sisters
of st, Joseph, as well as st. Margaret's
Academy, Holy Angels Academy, ST.
Mary's Hospital and the Catholic Or
phan Asylum for Boys.
l.. What attitude does the Catholic
Church take towards prohibition? 2.
Why did the Blessed Virgin Mary die?
Does it not say in the Bible that death
10 a punishment for sin. Why, then,
should the Blessed Virgin be doomed
to death on account of sin, for she
was free from all stains of sin? 5.
Is a person who has Sinned against
chastity but who has confessed the
sin and done penance fer it Justified in
studying for the priesthood if he feels
that it Is his vocation?
/. The Catholic Church has never
made any official pronounoement on
the question of prohibition. Her chill
dren, both priests and people, are free
to use their own judgment in regard
to this matter. There are among them
many who not only favor the probibi-
ton but who labor for it by voice and
pen. There are others who are just
as strongly opposed to it. 2. Why
did our Lord suffer death since He
was sinless? The Blessed Virgin, as
you rightly state, was not doomed to
death on account of sin. Through hui
mility she submitted to the law Of
death imposed upon all the children
of Adam as punishment for sin. Our
Divine Lord did the same. Apart from
that, however, they differ from all
other human beings in as much as
their bodies were not allowed to decay
and be resolved into dust, but were
preserved intact and interrupted. Our
Divine Lord arose from the dead and
assembled into heaven; His Blessed
Mother was assumed bodily into heav-
en-. 8. There is no reason why one who
has sinned, no matter how grievously,
but has done penance for it, cannot
enter the ranks of the priesthood. Al
mighty God may, and the history of
the Church shows that He has, called
sinners to His service in the religious
life. Usually it would be sinful for
any one addicted to vice to enter the
ecclesiastical state except there be
some solid prospect of his being able
to reform himself and to lead an eX-
emplary life. But the fact that one
has been guilty of even mortal sin is
not barrier to ones entrance into the
religious life.
1. Is it. a mortal sin when a Catho-
lie is among Protestants and does not
kneeI down to say his prayers before
going to bed, but says them to him.
self? 2. Is it mortal sin to miss