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SSJ Our Work - Sponsored Ministries
OUR WORK

Sponsored Ministries

What is a Sponsored Ministry?

A sponsored ministry is an entity founded and operated by the Sisters of Saint Joseph in order to further our mission of unity. Each of our sponsored ministries was called into existence to meet a specific need of the times and situations in which our Sisters found themselves.

As a sponsor, the Congregation publicly identifies with these ministries. We have the opportunity, in partnership with our lay brothers and sisters, to promote the mission of Jesus and extend the mission of the Congregation through sponsored ministries whose missions flow from the mission of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.

Education

Our education ministries serve students from preschool to adulthood through Montessori, creative interactive programs, and transformative, holistic learning experiences.

Norwood Fontbonne Academy

Norwood Fontbonne Academy

Founded in 1920, Norwood-Fontbonne Academy in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia educates girls and boys from preschool level through grade eighth offering a curriculum which includes a Montessori program, creative interactive classrooms and an extended day program. In 2014, the Academy was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.

Dr. Ryan P. Killeen, PhD – President
Kathryn Henry – Principal
215-247-3811

Mount Saint Joseph Academy

Mount Saint Joseph Academy

Founded in 1858, Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Flourtown, Pennsylvania is a college preparatory school preparing young women in grades 9 through 12 to realize their fullest potential through a holistic education enriched by the values of the Catholic Church. The Mount is a three-time recognized National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.

S. Charlene Diorka – President
Liz Blessing – Principal
215-233-3177

Chestnut Hill College

Chestnut Hill College

Founded in 1924, Chestnut Hill College in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia opened as a four-year liberal arts college for women. Throughout the years the college expanded to include educational opportunities for both men and women in the Undergraduate, Accelerated, Graduate, and Post-Graduate Divisions. Faithful to its rich history, Chestnut Hill College continues to meet the challenges of a changing society while maintaining its commitment to values-oriented education.

Dr. Bill Latimer, Ph.D.,M.P.H. – President
215-248-7000

Outreach

Two ministries of outreach seek to assist immigrants and others who are marginalized and underserved in the Kensington and Cramer Hill neighborhoods of Philadelphia and Camden.

Sisters of Saint Joseph Welcome Center

Founded in 2002, the SSJ Welcome Center in the Kensington area of Philadelphia offers opportunities that enable immigrants and other newcomers to the neighborhood to improve the quality of their lives through access to education, support services and programs leading to self-sufficiency.

Olivia Sharkey – Director
215-634-1696

SSJ Neighborhood Center

Sisters of Saint Joseph Neighborhood Center

Founded in 2017, rooted in a love of God and neighbor without distinction, the Sisters of Saint Joseph Neighborhood Center fosters a sense of community, uniting neighbor to neighbor and neighborhood to neighborhood, in the Cramer Hill section of Camden, NJ and beyond by providing opportunities for connection, enrichment, and empowerment.

S. Bernadette McMenamin – Director
1-856-338-8200

Healthcare

The Villa provides various levels of care to sister and lay residents in its nursing home and retirement center for the Sisters of Saint Joseph. The staff strives to make the healing presence of Jesus real for residents, visitors, and one another as they provide a caring, compassionate, relationship-based, person-centered culture for more than 300 residents.

Saint Joseph Villa
Saint Joseph Villa

Founded in 1968, Saint Joseph Villa in Flourtown, Pennsylvania offers health care to the retired and infirm Sisters of Saint Joseph and when possible to lay women and men, and to members of other religious communities. The Renewal and Revitalization Project, completed in 2017, transformed the Villa from a facility that looks and feels like an institution to a more home-like atmosphere, where the focus is on the residents’ needs and preferences.

S. Irene Dunn – President
Katrina Wise – Executive Director
215-836-4179

Spirituality

Centers of Spirituality, located in beautiful shore settings, provide varied spiritual/retreat experiences to heighten individuals’ receptivity to God’s Spirit drawing each person into Divine Love.

Saint Joseph by the Sea Retreat House in Sea Isle City
Saint Joseph by-the-Sea Retreat House

Saint Joseph by-the-Sea in Sea Isle, NJ is a retreat house sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Joseph to provide opportunities for varied retreat experiences in the hope of contributing to the wholeness of lives and to a healthy rhythm of prayer and rest for the sake of mission.

Sisters of Saint Joseph Center for Spirituality
Sisters of Saint Joseph Center for Spirituality

The Center for Spirituality in Ocean Grove, NJ is sponsored by the  Sisters of Saint Joseph to serve those who desire to experience God’s love in an atmosphere that fosters wholeness and healing. Our hope is that it will be a dwelling for God’s unioning love.

S. Joannie Cassidy – Program Director
S. Lois Jablonski – House Administrator
732-776-5458

HUD Housing

For the Sisters of Saint Joseph, the dream of providing affordable housing and independent living for senior citizens in safe and welcoming environments became a reality with the building of four HUD villages in McSherrystown and Flourtown.
Sisters of Saint Joseph Villages at McSherrystown

Villages at McSherrystown 

Academy Village celebrates for more than forty years of offering affordable housing in five one-bedroom apartments for seniors and younger persons with disabilities.

Established in 1999, Saint Joseph Village maintains 40 one-bedroom units in a safe environment fostering a spirit of independence and community for its residents.

The most recent of our federally subsidized housing efforts, Cecilian Village provides 49 one-bedroom apartments for persons 62 years of age and older who wish to live independently.

S. Victoria Staub – Housing Manager
717-637-4441

Sisters of Saint Joseph Bethlehem Villages

Bethlehem Retirement Village 

Bethlehem Village, located in Flourtown, PA, was built in 1984 and provides 100 apartments for eligible seniors.

Cristy Jones – Manager
215-233-0998