"In October of the same year,[1837] Carondelet received its first American postulant. She was Anne Eliza Dillon, daughter of Patrick McAndrews Dillon, a rich Irishman of Saint Louis. Miss Dillon, born at Saint Charles, Missouri, in 1820, lost her mother when she was quite young. She and her sister were sent to the Mesdames of the Sacred Heart in Saint Louis as boarders. They received an excellent education and spoke French fluently.
"Sister Delphine and her companions, who went to the Sacred Heart convent to take lessons in English, met Miss Dillon there. The latter had been appointed by the Superior to hold long and frequent conversations with the Sisters in their native language. These conversations had drawn these souls close together and permitted them to appreciate one another. Miss Dillon was strongly attached to the Sisters of Saint Joseph, whose simple, modest and deeply sincere virtues she admired. The next year, when she learned of the foundation of Carondelet, the extreme poverty of this house and the serenity of soul with which the Sisters bore with disagreeable things, she said to herself: 'I shall be one of them.'
"Mr. Dillon refused to consent to his daughter's wish. The young girl was firm, struggled respectfully with paternal authority and succeeded in winning this consent. She entered in October and was clothed with the habit of the Institute on January 3, 1838, receiving the name of Sister Mary Francis Joseph. She was generally known as Sister Mary Joseph. Sister Mary Joseph was a blessing from God for the young community, as she was capable of teaching French as well as English. She was a valuable asset. Her affable manner, and her exquisite delicacy made the common life easy and pleasant; while at the same time, her solid, amiable virtue and her invincible strength of character filled Mother Delphine's soul with joy and hope. Her example attracted excellent subjects to Carondelet.
"As the number of pupils increased daily, it was again necessary to enlarge the house. The resources from France made this possible. Several young people of the most respectable families entered the novitiate where they walked ardently 'in the hard road of sacrifice and perfection.' Grace seemed to change privations into sweetness; they were so happy to forget themselves, to deny themselves and to suffer. As the grain cast into the earth seems to die before taking root and growing into a beautiful stem, so the religious establishment of Carondelet, after taking root in the most absolute distress, began to grow and to blossom; and its flowers promised the beautiful fruits which it still continues to produce."
"Sister Delphine and her companions, who went to the Sacred Heart convent to take lessons in English, met Miss Dillon there. The latter had been appointed by the Superior to hold long and frequent conversations with the Sisters in their native language. These conversations had drawn these souls close together and permitted them to appreciate one another. Miss Dillon was strongly attached to the Sisters of Saint Joseph, whose simple, modest and deeply sincere virtues she admired. The next year, when she learned of the foundation of Carondelet, the extreme poverty of this house and the serenity of soul with which the Sisters bore with disagreeable things, she said to herself: 'I shall be one of them.'
"Mr. Dillon refused to consent to his daughter's wish. The young girl was firm, struggled respectfully with paternal authority and succeeded in winning this consent. She entered in October and was clothed with the habit of the Institute on January 3, 1838, receiving the name of Sister Mary Francis Joseph. She was generally known as Sister Mary Joseph. Sister Mary Joseph was a blessing from God for the young community, as she was capable of teaching French as well as English. She was a valuable asset. Her affable manner, and her exquisite delicacy made the common life easy and pleasant; while at the same time, her solid, amiable virtue and her invincible strength of character filled Mother Delphine's soul with joy and hope. Her example attracted excellent subjects to Carondelet.
"As the number of pupils increased daily, it was again necessary to enlarge the house. The resources from France made this possible. Several young people of the most respectable families entered the novitiate where they walked ardently 'in the hard road of sacrifice and perfection.' Grace seemed to change privations into sweetness; they were so happy to forget themselves, to deny themselves and to suffer. As the grain cast into the earth seems to die before taking root and growing into a beautiful stem, so the religious establishment of Carondelet, after taking root in the most absolute distress, began to grow and to blossom; and its flowers promised the beautiful fruits which it still continues to produce."
from Mother Saint John Fontbonne: A Biography translation adapted from the original French edition by a Sister of Saint Joseph Brentwood, New York
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