Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition (SJA)

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition is a Roman Catholic religious order of women, ministering throughout the world.

This missionary religious congregation of Pontifical Right was founded on the 25th December 1832 at Gaillac, France by St. Emilie de Vialar, granddaughter of Baron de Portal, physician to both King Louis Philippe and Charles X. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII, 24th June in 1951.

The name of the Institute calls to mind the mystery of the incarnation as revealed to St. Joseph, according to Mathew 1:20-21. The name reminds the Congregation of that which the Foundress wanted it to become: "By vocation, a living sign today of the love of God, which has become incarnate and which reaches men through human actions." (Constitution Art 4)

St. Emilie Governed the Institute for twenty-four years and during her lifetime opened forty-two houses spread across nineteen countries.