With current and previous versions of our Constitutions in the foreground, Associate Denis Barrett-Dennehey, Sister Chero Chuma and Candidate Sukyi Hur gather in the library at St. Mary-on-the-Lake

For a religious community, Constitutions guide our common life, describing both the spirit and the structure that guides the order.  As Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, we have been gifted with Constitutions extraordinary for their poetry, passion and consistent expression of our charism of peace through justice. 

One of the writers of our Constitutions, Sister Alexandra Kovats, explored this history and brought alive the process of creating our 1994 Constitutions in a presentation on April 5th to Sharing the Journey, our study group for pre-Associates, new Associates, and those on the path to becoming vowed Sisters. 

The first Constitutions of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace were written by our founder, Margaret Anna Cusack, and have her characteristic voice.  The second Constitutions, from 1929, are a boiler-plate document that could have fit almost any community of Sisters at that time.  Our current Constitutions, adopted in 1994, are unique among religious Congregations in focusing every element of our lives - mission, vows, governance - through the lens of our charism.  Read a brief sample from each of these Constitutions here.

Sister Alexandra Kovats, our presenter and one of the group that wrote the Constitutions.

Talking during a break: Sukyi Hur, Sister Jo-Anne Miller, Associate Candidate Connie Nicholson and Associate Leona Muller .