Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Other Group

U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph

Type:

Religious congregation
Headquarters:

Jamaica Estates, NY
Executive Director:

Dierdre Griffin

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, is a Catholic religious congregation of women founded in France in 1650. The congregation has approximately 9,500 members worldwide, including over 2,500 in the United States and 2,000 in France, and has members in 50 other countries. The U.S.-based arm of the congregation operates as the Sisters of Saint Joseph U.S. Federation and supports a variety of left-of-center policies and issues, including promoting anti-racism language while calling for the elimination of cash bail, expansionist immigration policies, and gun control. 1 2 3 4 5

History

The U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph states that it is a dynamic union of all the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the United States who claim a common origin in the foundation of the congregation at Le Puy, France in 1650. The congregation’s U.S. membership includes 2,584 sisters, 2,797 associates, and 62 aggregate members of 16 Congregations throughout the United States. The federation issues statements on a variety of social, political and cultural topics, including LGBT issues, racial issues, and immigration, and has been particularly critical of immigration-enforcement policies. 6 5

The group also engaged with the United Nations (UN) through the Congregations of St. Joseph, which has had an official presence as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) at the UN since 1979. In 1999, the group was granted General Consultative Status with Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which, according to the congregation, “has given us the opportunity to express our views and make statements during official UN conferences and meetings, on topics that we deem significant.” 7

Activity and Positions

The Sisters of St. Joseph U.S. Federation issues statements and provides resources promoting a variety of left-of-center issues. In 2018, the group issued a statement calling the Trump administration’s border protection activities “terrorism” and that promoted resources and petitions from left-of-center groups, including MoveOn, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Credo Action. 8

The group also engages in environmental issues, opposing a 2018 Trump administration affordable clean energy rule that gave states flexibility in the regulation of coal power plants. 9

In 2019, the group issued a statement on gun violence that stated, “we implore all legislative bodies to pass legislation that ban assault weapons, require universal background checks for all gun sales, provide funding for gun violence prevention research, and make the trafficking in weapons a federal crime.” 3

The group aligned itself with the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, stating that “Racism is America’s original sin. It is a virus every bit as deadly as COVID-19 that has infected our nation since its inception and until we address it, people of color will continue to die, and our nation will never heal.” 10

While not fully endorsing same-sex marriage, the federation has several statements and resources supportive of lesbian members of the congregation and has stated that it will bless same-sex couples. 11

References

  1. “Federation Statement on Racism.” Congregation of St. Joseph. August 15, 2018. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Federation-Statement-on-Racism-8.15.18.pdf.
  2. “Anti-Racism.” Congregation of St. Joseph. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/justice-peace/anti-racism/.
  3. “Statement on Gun Violence.” Congregation of St. Joseph. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Statement_on_Gun_Violence_8719_optimized.pdf.
  4. “Immigration.” Congregation of St. Joseph. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/justice-peace/immigration/.
  5. “About Us.” Congregation of St. Joseph. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/about-us/.
  6. “Justice Statements.” Congregation of St. Joseph. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/justice-peace/justice-statements/.
  7. “UN NGO.” Congregation of St. Joseph. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/about-us/un-ngo/.
  8. “Leadership Council Decries Human Rights Violations and Terrorism Perpetrated by the Trump Administration at the U.S. Border.” Congregation of St. Joseph. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Leadership-Council-Decries-Human-Rights-Violations-and-Terrorism-Perpetrated-by-the-Trump-Administration-at-the-U.S.-Border.pdf.
  9. “Affordable Clean Energy Statement.” Congregation of St. Joseph. August 24, 2018. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Affordable-Clean-Energy-Statement-8.24.18.pdf.
  10. “Statement on Racism.” Congregation of St. Joseph. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/Statement%20on%20Racism.pdf.
  11. “LGBTQ+.” Congregation of St. Joseph. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://cssjfed.org/justice-peace/lgbtq/.
  See an error? Let us know!