Societas Sodalium Sancti Joseph a Sacra Corde | |
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| Abbreviation | SSJ |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Josephites |
| Formation | May 30, 1893 |
| Founders | John R. Slattery Charles Uncles John A. Deruyter Dominic Manley Lambert Welbers |
| Founded at | Baltimore, United States |
| Type | Society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men |
| Headquarters | 1130 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
Members | 68 members (58 priests) as of 2020 |
Superior General | John Huston Ricard, SSJ |
Ministry | Sacramental, Educational and Pastoral |
Parent organization | Catholic Church |
| Website | josephites |
| [1] | |
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The Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Latin: Societas Sodalium Sancti Joseph a Sacra Corde), also known as the Josephites, is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Members work specifically among African Americans and take the postnominals SSJ.
The Josephites were formed in 1893 by a group of Mill Hill priests working with newly-freed Black people emancipated during the American Civil War.[2] The founders included Fr John R. Slattery, who led the group and would become the first Josephite superior general, and one of the nation's first black priests, Fr Charles Uncles. With permission from the Mill Hill leaders in England and the Archbishop of Baltimore, Cardinal James Gibbons, the group established the Josephites as an independent mission society based in America and dedicated totally to the African-American cause.[3]
The Josephites have served in Black Catholic parishes, schools, and other ministries around the country. They also played a major role in the Black Catholic Movement of the late 20th century, in which Black Catholicism became a more prominent part of the larger Black church, liturgically and otherwise.[4] The Josephites were instrumental in the restoration of the permanent diaconate in the United States following the Second Vatican Council, and the Josephite bishop John Ricard helped found the National Black Catholic Congress in 1987.[5]
In 2011, the society elected its first African-American superior general, Fr William "Bill" Norvel, who established a vocations hub for the society in Nigeria.[4] The next two superiors have also been African Americans, the latest being Ricard. As of September 2021, the rest of the society's leadership and its new seminarians and priests are almost all Nigerians.
- ^ "Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart (S.S.J.)".
- ^ "OUR HISTORY | Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart". Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rivera, John (1997-08-29). "National Black Catholic Congress returns to Baltimore Convention, was last here at end of 19th century". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2021-06-13.