On Sunday, June 7, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Sister Grace Ford was received into the Novitiate of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine, Fla.

Grace entered the postulancy at the Motherhouse on August 1, 2014; with her adult children thriving on their own, Grace was free to answer God’s call to consecrated life.

For the next two years she will be studying Church and congregational documents more intensely and learning more about the mission and charisms of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Le Puy, France were invited by the first Bishop of St. Augustine, Bishop Augustin Verot in September 1866 to come and educate and evangelize the thousands of freed slaves after the Civil War. Since those first eight Sisters arrived, thousands of women have responded to the charism of these Sisters of the Diocese of St. Augustine:

“Seized by God’s love, we work in collaboration with others to bring union and reconciliation to our world, that all may be one.” John 17:21