Announcing St. Joseph Educational Ministries

Dear SJA Community,

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet of the St. Louis province are proud of the five educational institutions they founded and want to see their impact on Catholic education continue for generations to come. To achieve this goal, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and St. Joseph’s Academy are taking an innovative step, empowering the laity to continue the educational ministry that the sisters have established.

Announcing St. Joseph Educational Ministries 
We are pleased to announce that the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province is transferring sponsorship of the educational institutions the sisters founded, including St. Joseph’s Academy, to the newly established St. Joseph Educational Ministries (SJEM). 

St. Joseph Educational Ministries is a model of Catholic sponsorship called a ministerial public juridic person, a status that has been granted to SJEM by the Vatican that enables lay people to take on the sponsorship role traditionally held only by religious. Although “ministerial public juridic person” sounds like an individual, it is a canonical term for a group of persons who together further the mission of the church.

SJEM will assume the responsibility for ensuring the Catholic identity and CSJ spirituality of its sponsored institutions is retained in perpetuity. SJEM will be the bridge between the schools and the church with its lay members taking on the sponsorship role alongside the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Day-to-Day Operations at St. Joseph’s Academy Remain the Same
While St. Joseph Educational Ministries replaces the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as the sponsoring entity of the schools, day-to-day operations will not be affected. The sisters are not leaving the schools, and they will continue to be active and present. Matters of finance, governance and academics remain the responsibility of St. Joseph’s Academy administrators and board of directors.

Learn More
We welcome your questions and comments about SJEM and offer you the following opportunities to have them answered:

Online: Learn more about St. Joseph Educational Ministries, visit the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet’s website at csjsl.org/sjem.

Submit Questions and Comments: Click here to submit your questions and comments, and an appropriate person will respond to you.

Register for the Virtual Town Hall: Learn more at our Virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, February 10 at 7:00 P.M. CST where you will have the opportunity to hear from representatives of the sisters and the schools and have your questions answered. Click here to register.

SJEM is one of the first pontifical ministerial public juridic persons for education in the United States, and we are proud to be trailblazers in Catholic education with this new approach to sponsorship. As leaders, we are excited for the opportunities SJEM brings to our St. Joseph’s Academy community. We will keep you informed throughout the transition process, and appreciate your continued support and prayers during this time. 

Sincerely,
Sister Amy Hereford, CSJ
Province Leadership Team

Sister Fran Maher, CSJ
Province Leadership Team

Sister Margaret Schulz, CSJ
Province Leadership Team

Regina E. Mooney, Ph.D.
President, St. Joseph’s Academy

Craig Hannick
Board Chair, St. Joseph’s Academy