The Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in 1807. Located around the world, its members perform a variety of charitable works, but they devote themselves especially to missionary work and providing education for the poor.

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Anne Marie Javouhey, the founder of the religious institute, was born in a remote village in Burgundy, France, on November 10, 1779 and died on the July 15, 1851.^[1]

Javouhey grew up at a time when the country was in the grip of the French Revolution. Churches and schools were closed and priests were persecuted. She, along with her parents, helped save the lives of priests who would not swear an oath of allegiance to the State.^[2] It was under these circumstances that Anne Marie as a young girl tried to meet the spiritual needs of the people around her. Not long after she turned 20, Anne Marie chose to become a nun, but for her it was not an easy process. She made several attempts to enter religious life and ended up leaving several institutes, before deciding to begin one of her own. Anne Marie was encouraged in this endeavor by Pope Pius VII during a meeting in 1805, in the town of Chalon-sur-Saône, France.

Two years later, on 12 May 1807, Bishop Imberties of Autun officially bestowed religious habits upon Anne Marie and eight other women, including three of her sisters.^[3] This act officially founded the Society of St. Joseph of Cluny in Cluny, France. The congregation became known as the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny.

Initially, the education of children and the care of the orphans was their primary work. Javouhey employed the Lancasterian method, by which abler students acted as teachers' assistants, and achieved good results that drew notice from the French government who asked for her assistance in their overseas colonies. In 1817, Javouhey was invited by the governor of Île Bourbon, to open a school on the island. In January 1822, Javouhey traveled to Senegal to work among the local population. As the numbers continued to grow, the Sisters found themselves traveling farther afield, especially to those areas colonized by the French.

In 1823, at the invitation of Charles MacCarthy, British governor of Sierra Leone opened a house there, and, soon after, in Gambia. In 1902, thirty-three sisters on Martinique perished in the eruption of Mount Pelée.

She worked with lepers in South America. When she returned to France, her attention shifted to the mentally ill, who were at that time neglected.

As of 2015, there were approximately 2,600 sisters in 57 countries. The Motherhouse is in Paris.^[6] Members make public profession of the Vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience and live in community.^[4]

She died on 15 July 1851 and was beatified on 15 October 1950.^[7]

Today, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny number around 3000, and belong to some 70 different nationalities and are serving in more than 50 countries. More than a third are Indian and almost one-fifth are African or Malgache.^[3]

• Anne-Marie Javouhey