On behalf of the Sisters of St. Joseph, administration, faculty and staff I welcome you to our website.

We begin with a sense of origins, the origins of the founding congregation which are paralleled in the origins of this educational institution.

In the beginning, in 1650 France, Jean Pierre Medaille, SJ gathered together six women who wished to serve the church by going outside the cloister to serve the needs of others, particularly the women of Le Puy. The founding women were placed under the protection of St. Joseph and were challenged to divide the city, identify the needs, and practice the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, to become all of which woman is capable in service to the dear neighbor.

The Le Puy foundation grew steadily until the French Revolution when all convents were disbanded. In God’s providence, Jeanne Fontbonne was first saved from the guillotine and then commissioned to re-found the Congregation in Lyons. In 1836, at the request of Bishop Joseph Rosati of St. Louis, Mother St. John Fontbonne sent six Sisters to serve the church in America.

In the early 1960s, Mother Josephine Feeley, Provincial Superior of the Sisters’ Los Angeles Province, responded to the request of Bishop Floyd Begin of Oakland to found a high school for the young women of Contra Costa County. On September 7, 1965 the six founding women---three sisters and three lay women--- welcomed one hundred students.

From the beginning Carondelet High School faculty has educated, challenged and enabled young women to integrate Gospel values, to intelligently apply these values to their lives, to reflect these values through leadership and service to the greater community. We strive for excellence in all we do to educate the whole person---mind, body and spirit--- but we also educate to serve a world in need.

As you visit the various sections of our website, we hope you will catch the reality as well as the spirit which is Carondelet High School.

Sister Kathleen Lang, CSJ
President