Mount Expands Mission-Based Exchange Program

Visiting the SSJ Welcome Center in Philadelphia.

Mount Expands Mission-Based Exchange Program with School in Le Puy, France

What began a few years ago as a French language exchange program has evolved to embrace the roots of the SSJ mission

In 2015, Sister Kathleen Brabson, SSJ, then-President of the Mount, met with then-French teacher Carole Deshagette, who wanted to start a French language exchange program for her students. Inspired by the Sisters of Saint Joseph’s mission and the Order’s roots, S. Kathleen reached out to contacts in Le Puy, France, where the Order was founded. The SSJs trace their origins and spirit to six women, who came together in 1650 in warravaged LePuy in southern France, with great desire for union with God, themselves, and the dear neighbor.

S. Kathleen connected with Ensemble Scolaire Saint Jacques de Compostelle, a high school in Le Puy. She was put in touch with Martine Wendzinski, a French literature teacher at the school. Shortly after, S. Kathleen and Martine developed a pilot exchange program that was exclusively for French language students. Each year, students from both schools would alternate traveling between the U.S. and France. Students would be immersed spiritually and culturally, staying with local host families from the respective schools.

S. Kathleen and Martine expressed a strong desire to shift the focus to a mission-based exchange program for all students, and they began planning to do so in 2017. Prior to her death, S. Kathleen had been collaborating with Martine to spearhead the program, working with the French school’s campus minister and colleagues to develop and finalize plans to fully integrate tenets of the SSJ mission into the trip.

After S. Kathleen’s death, Martine continued planning the program’s expansion to give students the experience of walking in the footsteps of the founding Sisters of Saint Joseph. Additions to the program now include traveling to the French city of Lyon (site of the grave of Jeanne Fontbonne/Mother St. John Fontbonne, who founded the congregation after the French Revolution); visiting the humble kitchen, where the founding members of the SSJs gathered each evening around the hearth to share stories of the people they encountered that day and prayerfully accompanyed one another; and additional SSJ-related locations.

Students at the Chestnut Hill SSJ Motherhouse Chapel, where they attended a live reenactment of the Stations of the Cross.

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Martine with the group of French students and Mounties after their welcome assembly at MSJA.

In just a few short years, the program has become not only a success in terms of attendance and a way to immerse students in the history of the SSJs, but a model for other educational groups to follow. Now, CSJ and SSJ schools across the U.S. partner with Ensemble Scolaire Saint Jacques de Compostelle to run mission-based exchange programs.

This year, French students visited the U.S. and stayed with Mount student host families over Easter break. Mrs. Anne Hoffman (MSJA Language teacher) and Mrs. Katie Kennedy (MSJA Theology teacher) coordinated this year’s program. The two planned the itinerary and activities, organized transportation, and matched French students with their Mount host families. A total of twelve students participated: six from MSJA, and six from Ensemble Scolaire Saint Jacques de Compostelle.

Upon arrival, the students traveled in the new Mount van to campus, where they had a pizza party and met their host families. The students traveled home with their host families that night.

The students spent most of their time in school with their host students, and at the homes of their host families. In addition to being immersed in the history of the SSJs, the program aimed to immerse French students in American culture.

The next day (the first full day the Le Puy students were at the Mount), a school-wide assembly welcomed them. Mrs. Kennedy explained to the entire student body how the Le Puy students would be immersed in witnessing how the SSJ mission is still alive: both within the school community and in other sponsored works of the SSJs.

The following day (Wednesday), the guests attended a full day of classes and met other Mounties. On Thursday, the group visited the SSJ Welcome Center in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. The purpose was to show students how the SSJ mission is alive right in MSJA’s “backyard.”

Sisters who work at the Welcome Center taught an English as a Second Language (ESL) class to students, just as they do to local immigrant families. The sisters, who also offer prep courses for immigrants who are taking the U.S. citizenship test, offered students a glimpse into what goes into preparing for such a comprehensive test. The group engaged in discussions about their experiences abroad, cultural differences, and more.

Martine and the French students planned a trip to S. Kathleen’s gravesite (on the grounds of Saint Joseph’s Villa in Flourtown, next door to the Mount), where they held a prayer service. The French group led the students in prayer and sang hymns, and then placed the Le Puy flag and purple flowers on her grave to honor her and the work she did to bring this program to fruition.

Mrs. Hoffman and Mrs. Kennedy spent downtime planning how to carry forth the mission through this program. They, along with Martine, are working on a manual this summer to further develop the programs structure. It is markedly different from the Mount’s annual spring break Europe trip, which focuses on cultural exploration; this trip focuses solely on the SSJ mission, how it is materializing in the world, and how students can live it in their own lives. Reflection will be encouraged before, during, and after the trip. The three are also developing an advisory board that will include parents and faculty/staff to review and improve the program. The ultimate goal is that any Mount faculty or staff member (not just those from the Language or Theology departments) can run the trip going forward. They also hope that it will be integrated into student life at both schools.

This is yet another example of two very important pillars of a Mount education and the Mount community: carrying on the SSJ mission, and creating a culture of inclusivity where visitors from abroad are welcomed with enthusiasm.

The group attends a welcome pizza party at the Mount, where French students met their host families.

The group of French students, along with Martine Wendzinski, poses next to the new Mount van at Philadelphia International Airport after arrival.

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