Jewels from Jane, July 14

"In 1805, the wearing of a religious costume was permitted by law. Clothed in secular dress, they [The Black Daughters] had been living the life of Sisters of Saint Joseph in Maison Pascal for almost a year. The time for wearing its habit had come. On July 14, 1808, the twelve postulants were clothed in the habit and received a religious name. The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Lyons was just restored. Here are the names of the first Sisters:

“Mother Saint John, Superior and foundress

Anne Matrat, Sister Saint Francis Regis

Jeanne Marie Matrat, Sister Saint Claire

Anne Marie Didier, Sister Saint Paul

Suzanne Marcoux, Sister Saint John Baptist

Jeanne Poitrasson-Gonnet, Sister Saint Francis de Sales

Philippine Menard, Sister Saint Teresa

Benoite Perrin, Sister Marie

Antoinette Monteillier, Sister Saint Michael

Marie Anne Pitiot, Sister Saint Augustine

Antoinette Cessier, Sister Marie Joseph

Marie Louise Foret, Sister Saint Madeleine

Elizabeth Placon, Sister Saint Agnes

“From that day, no longer existed the Society of Black Daughters; it was now the Society of Saint Joseph. They had taken care not to say ‘Congregation,’ as that term would have been sufficient to make the society suspected in the eyes of the Revolutionaires. It was not of importance to let the public know that they were reviving the Institute. The important thing was to revive it. Under a different name the Sisters continued to occupy themselves with the same works; and not only were the Sisters themselves appreciated, but their habit was saluted with veneration wherever they went.

“With respect to the dress, let us say that it underwent a transformation at that time. In the first Rule, printed with the permission of Monsignor de Villars, Archbishop of Vienne, in 1693, we read: ‘The Sisters of Saint Joseph shall be dressed as virtuous, modest widows.’ The head-dress of the widows of the seventeenth century, the epoch of the founding of the Institute, consisted of a hood of white linen, joined under the chin and partly covered with a cap of black silk. When, after the Revolution, the Sisters of Saint Joseph could resume their religious habit, widows no longer dressed in that fashion. Mother Saint John thought it possible, without deviating from the spirit of the founders, to replace the cap by the veil. In 1650, widows wore a white fichu over their shoulders; the Sisters had adopted this fichu. After the Concordat, the fichu was replaced by the guimpe. The habit then assumed a monastic tone which is suitable to virgins.”

From Mother Saint John Fontbonne: A Biography adapted from the French by a Sister of Saint Joseph of Brentwood, NY