Who we are

Aotearoa New Zealand Province

The New Zealand province was founded in 1883 at Temuka in the South Island. Today Sisters of St Joseph live in all the dioceses in Aotearoa and are involved in a variety of ministries.

We are a diverse group of women passionate about a gospel commitment to participation in God’s reign. We share the Josephite Charism with the Associates and others in the contemporary Josephite movement.

Current Focus

The Sisters gathered in the Mary MacKillop Centre on Sunday 25 November 2007 to receive feedback from the Province Chapter Delegates to the 25th General Chapter held in Sydney. The atmosphere was expectant as Sisters had been following the Chapter proceedings through the daily communications published from the General Chapter. The themes, outlined in the Chapter document, evoked lively discussion.

As a Province and Congregation we will be working together on Pathways Forward over the next six years in several key areas, namely, Identity in Mission, Charism Alive, Governance for Mission, Right Relationship and Vowed for Mission. Making changes to our structures so that we are effective for Mission will be one of the first journeys undertaken in the next three years. As Sisters of the Aotearoa New Zealand Province we felt the Chapter call to commit ourselves "to creating communities which will grow into living cells of inspiration and interdependence alive with the urgency of God's new stirrings". Within this call we will explore, shape and experiment with new structures for Mission.

We will be responding to questions such as:

How do we respond to the call to shape these structures?

What are our responsibilities?

How do we remain focussed on our specific mission within the
                                                                Church?

It is exciting!  It is challenging!  It is demanding!  What of our courage?