St. John of God, Sisters of
ST. JOHN OF GOD, SISTERS OF
Also known as S.S.J.G., founded in 1871 at Wexford, Ireland, by Thomas furlong, Bishop of Wexford, and Mother Visitation Bridget Clancy as a diocesan congregation of sisters to teach, nurse in hospitals, and visit the sick poor in their homes. Since 1931, the congregation has been a pontifical institute having simple perpetual vows. In 1895, on the invitation of Bishop Matthey Gibney of Perth, eight sisters went to Australia to care for the victims of the typhoid epidemic that was spreading through the gold mines. The Australian mission has grown to include hospitals, schools, hospices, nursing homes and retreat facilities. Mission work in Africa began in the 1960s, where the sisters ran bush clinics, hospitals, colleges, and schools. The Sisters of St. John of God have communities in Australia, Ireland, England, Wales, Pakistan, and Cameroon. The generalate is located in Wexford, Ireland.
[p. j. corish/eds.]