OUR  SJA  LAY  ASSOCIATES

The Associates of St Joseph of the Apparition are those lay people who wish to share the spirituality of St Emilie de Vialar, the foundress of the Congregation.

The Western Australian Associates were formed in 1989 with members coming from as far afield as Fremantle, Albany as well as Ivanhoe in Victoria. It was intended that ordinary people become aware of St Emilie’s Spirituality as relevant to our families and the world we live in.

Highest membership was in 2007 when there were approximately 550 registered members and around a 100 members would gather for general Meetings and Special Events. This group comprised 15 core group members who had a desire for deeper Spirituality. Over the years these numbers declined.

Sr Helen nurtured the Associates in Australia, and helped establish the Associates in Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand. She put into writing the booklet, “Ä Way of Life” as a guideline for the SJA Associates.

Today both the Sisters and the Foundation group are aging and numbers are declining. The Associates continue to celebrate St Joseph’s (19th March) and St Emilie’s (17th June) Feast Days respectively and usually gather at St Patricks Basilica in Fremantle, where the First Sisters landed in Australia.

“Go and with what You have and will receive, do all the good you can.”  is a Maxim or Saying we closely associate with Emilie de Vialar.

An updated SJA Associates” Booklet has been written recently.

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