Agregees of St. Joseph of Concordia, Kansas

[Yaatee]

It's pronounced "ahh-gre-ZHEES".  It's French, and is a provision for a sort of "affiliate sister" which was discovered in the original documents of the Sisters of St. Joseph, founded in 1650 in France. Currently they are affiliates of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, Kansas.

More info here:

http://www.csjkansas.org/agregees-and-vowed-sisters/comment-page-1/#comment-201861

They are located in Kansas Colorado, and Oklahoma. They were founded in about 2008 in this branch of St. Joseph, and consist of NEVER MARRIED women who remain in their life and work situation, but enter a 2-3 year training program with mentors, ultimately resulting in their taking a vow of stability, which is incidentally one of the Benedictine vows.  They retain their property. There is no age limit. Currently they are in their 50's, 60's, and 70's.  The concept is still evolving. As of June, 2014 there were eleven of them, with eight candidates from Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, St. Louis, MO, and New Mexico.

Their status reminds me of that of the claustral oblates, an ancient form of Benedictine religious life, where individuals (usually men) live and work at the monastery, retain their property, but don't vote.

[Yaatee]

It's pronounced "ahh-gre-ZHEES".  It's French, and is a provision for a sort of "affiliate sister" which was discovered in the original documents of the Sisters of St. Joseph, founded in 1650 in France. Currently they are affiliates of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, Kansas.

More info here:

http://www.csjkansas.org/agregees-and-vowed-sisters/comment-page-1/#comment-201861

They are located in Kansas Colorado, and Oklahoma. They were founded in about 2008 in this branch of St. Joseph, and consist of NEVER MARRIED women who remain in their life and work situation, but enter a 2-3 year training program with mentors, ultimately resulting in their taking a vow of stability, which is incidentally one of the Benedictine vows.  They retain their property. There is no age limit. Currently they are in their 50's, 60's, and 70's.  The concept is still evolving. As of June, 2014 there were eleven of them, with eight candidates from Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, St. Louis, MO, and New Mexico.

Their status reminds me of that of the claustral oblates, an ancient form of Benedictine religious life, where individuals (usually men) live and work at the monastery, retain their property, but don't vote.

CLARIFICATION:

I sent a query to the​ Communications Director of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, Kansas, and she clarified that candidates to the Agregees MAY be never married OR MAY be widowed or MAY be divorced with an annulment. Currently there are agregees who are in all three categories!

Sorry for the confusion.