Meet an Associate

Click below for individual Associate stories:

Barbara Baptista

It seemed that the more I reached out, the more wonderful were the gifts being offered to me.

The Sisters of St. Joseph have been a mainstay in my life since I came to Toronto from Hong Kong in October 1995. When I arrived I felt quite overwhelmed. I wondered how I could cope in a new country without the support of family and friends whom I had left behind.

I looked for strength and comfort where I knew I would find it: in God and among the Sisters of Joseph, who welcomed me into their home at St Joseph’s Morrow Park.

Brian Farrell

Brian Farrell has an 18-year association with the Associates. It all started, Brian recounts, with a course on being a palliative care volunteer at Providence Centre, then operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto. Once the program was finished, he became the first volunteer on the palliative unit. He remained for11 years. He was impressed with the Sisters:

"It was in the care that the Sisters gave the patients and residents — they saw each individual as someone special. They knew everyone's name."

Cindy Elkerton

Our experience has been rewarding.

I was studying at Regis College in the late 90's when I met the Sisters of St. Joseph and learned about the Associates. In 2005, my husband, Stephen, and I decided we wanted to become Associates so that we could pray with a group. We met with Sister Roberta Freeman and she welcomed us.

We are with the Providence Associates group and we are glad to have Brian Farrell as our group coordinator. Brian has a deep faith, keeps us on track and helps create a good space so that all of us can share.

Eva Bowman

"I started working at St. Michael's Hospital and that's how I came to know the Sisters. The Sisters of St. Joseph were a part of the hospital. Sister Helena saw me one day and asked how I was. I told her I was worried, that my contract was ending soon and I really needed a full-time job. 'God will provide,' she said. 'Let's pray.' She held my hand and we prayed. And lo and behold, three months later, I got the full time job."

Eva remembers the next invitation. Ursula, a co-worker, invited her to attend a CSJ Associates' meeting.

Holy Family Associates Community

Sister Mary Buckley shares the story of the Holy Family Associate Community.

I have been involved with the Holy Family Associate Community in Oshawa for more than ten years now. When the last Sister of St. Joseph left Oshawa, there was need of a Sister who could and would drive from Toronto for the monthly meeting. And I was it. I moved from being a member of the Matt Talbot group to being coordinator of Holy Family.

Julia Jacobs

My spiritual life has blossomed and evolved with every monthly meeting and associate event.

I have been an associate for the past four years. I have been a Catholic for the past 11 years. I have always known and heard about the works of the Sisters of St. Joseph but didn't know how to be part of their ministry. A friend from my child's school community invited me to a new young mothers' CSJ Associate community gathering meeting and handed me the information pamphlet. I attended the first gathering and found my spiritual home.

Laura Brown

Laura Brown came to know of the Sisters of St. Joseph through the retreats, seminars and talks that used to take place at St. Joseph's Centre. When she was telling her friend Winnie how much she admired the Sisters, her friend asked if she would like to become an associate. She describes what happened this way:

I went to an orientation meeting. They reviewed what the expectations would be: the yearly retreat, the 10 meetings a year, the yearly commitment and the social event. It wasn't difficult for me to commit — I was very taken with the program.

Margaret Stecker

Our daily commitment to morning evening prayer, the charism of love and care for the dear neighbour, was what attracted me further.

I had known of the Sisters of St. Joseph for many years prior to becoming an Associate. I met the Sisters at St. Michael’s Hospital, at Providence Villa and have worked alongside some St. Joseph Sisters in my various endeavours.

Sister Jean DeLuca became a friend when, a long time ago, we were introduced by a mutual friend while I worked in St. Patrick’s German parish.

Mary Duffy

I have been an associate with the Lalemant Group in Orillia since 1999. The reason I keep coming back is the spirit of friendship and sharing that is in the group.

My first meeting with the Sisters of St Joseph was at Invermara during the 1950's, when I was one of the school children in our area receiving catechism summer school classes taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph. From 1963 to 1966, 1 attended St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing in Toronto. Our class was the last three-year course taught by the Sisters.

Rosemary Merkley

Looking for "something more" for my spiritual life as well as joining the Sisters of St. Joseph in their "preferential option for the poor" have kept me in the associates of the Sisters.

I worked with Sister Dorothy Dwyer doing discharge planning for patients who needed rehabilitation, nursing home or chronic care. After many talks together, Sister Dorothy mentioned that the Sisters of St.

Ursula Matthews

At this particular time, I was searching for more in my spiritual life — the CSJ Associate Program was the answer.

My association with the Sisters of St. Joseph dates back to 1964. Sister Magdalena hired me as a part time employee in the business office at St. Michael's Hospital. The Sisters I worked with kept Christ present in the work place. Their example of Christian caring earned my respect and love over the years.

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