Қасиетті Жүректердің Әйелдер қауымы және Әйя Макиллоптың құрылтайы

Roman Catholic female teaching order
the Catholic religious institute founded by Saint Mary MacKillop

The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the Josephites or Brown Joeys, are a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Mary MacKillop (1842–1909). Members of the congregation use the postnominal initials RSJ (Religious Sisters of St Joseph). The order was founded in Penola, South Australia, in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and the Rev. Julian Tenison Woods. The centre of the congregation is at Mary MacKillop Place, Mount Street, North Sydney, New South Wales, where Saint Mary MacKillop's tomb is enshrined in the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel. At present there are around 900 sisters living and working throughout Australia (in all states except Tasmania) and New Zealand, as well as in Ireland and Peru. The current congregational leader of the Josephites is Sr Monica Cavanagh. Besides the main centre at North Sydney, the Josephites, who were named after Saint Joseph, have "Mary MacKillop Centres" at Penola, South Australia; the Adelaide suburb of Kensington, South Australia; East Melbourne, Victoria; Annerley, Queensland; and South Perth, Western Australia. The Australian New Zealand Federation of the Sisters of St Joseph includes congregations in Perthville and Lochinvar in New South Wales.

Fr Julian Tenison Woods had been very concerned about the lack of education, particularly Catholic education, in South Australia. In 1866, he invited MacKillop and her sisters Annie and Lexie to come to Penola and open a Catholic school. At this time MacKillop made a declaration of her dedication to God and began wearing black. In 1867 MacKillop became the first member and superior general of the newly formed religious congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Dedicated to the education of the children of the poor, it was the first religious institute to be founded by an Australian. The Rule of Life developed by Woods and MacKillop for the convent emphasised poverty, a dependence on divine providence, no ownership of personal belongings and faith that God would provide, and willingness to go where needed. In December 1869, MacKillop and several other sisters travelled to Brisbane to establish the congregation in Queensland. and assured MacKillop that the congregation and their Rule of Life would receive final approval after a trial period. Before Woods' death on 7 October 1889, he and MacKillop were personally reconciled, but he did not renew his involvement with the congregation. Notwithstanding all the trouble, the institute expanded. By 1877 it operated more than 40 schools in and around Adelaide, with many others in Queensland and New South Wales. With the help from Benson, Barr Smith, the Baker family, Emanuel Solomon, and other non Catholics, the Josephites, with MacKillop as their superior general, were able to continue the religious and other good works, including visiting prisoners in jail.

Sydney's Archbishop Roger Vaughan died in 1883 and was succeeded by Patrick Francis Moran. Although he had a somewhat positive outlook toward the Josephites, he removed MacKillop as superior general and replaced her with Sister Bernard Walsh. In 1889 it was also established in the Australian state of Victoria. During all these years MacKillop assisted Mother Bernard with the management of the Sisters of St Joseph. She wrote letters of support, advice, and encouragement or just to keep in touch. By 1896, MacKillop was back in South Australia visiting fellow sisters in Port Augusta, Burra, Pekina, Kapunda, Jamestown, and Gladstone. That same year she travelled again to New Zealand, spending several months in Port Chalmers and Arrowtown in Otago. During her time in New Zealand the Sisters of St Joseph established a school in the South Island. In 1897, Bishop Maher of Port Augusta arranged for the Sisters of St Joseph to take charge of the St Anacletus Catholic Day School in Petersburg (now Peterborough). MacKillop founded a convent and base for the Sisters of St Joseph in Petersborough on 16 January 1897. "On January 16th, 1897, the founder of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Mother Mary of the Cross, arrived in Peterborough to take over the school. She was accompanied by Sister Benizi (who was placed in charge of the school), Sister M. Joseph, Sister Clotilde, and Sister Aloysius Joseph. They were met at the station by Rev. Father Norton who took them to the newly blessed convent, purchased for them on Railway Terrace." The property at 40 Railway Terrace is identified as the convent by a plaque placed by the Diocese of Peterborough. The vault was a gift of Joanna Barr Smith, a lifelong friend and admiring Presbyterian.

The wide network of schools and community aid organisations established by the sisters continued to expand throughout Australasia and elsewhere during the 20th century. While vocations within Australia suffered along with other religious institutes in the latter 20th century, its work continued and global recognition came with the canonisation of Mary MacKillop in 2010.

In 1925, the congregational leader of the Sisters of St Joseph, Mother Laurence, began the process to have MacKillop declared a saint and Archbishop Michael Kelly of Sydney established a tribunal to carry the process forward. After further investigations, MacKillop's "heroic virtue" was declared in 1992. Her canonisation was announced on 19 February 2010 and took place on 17 October 2010. An estimated 8,000 Australians were present in Vatican City to witness the ceremony.

Irene McCormack (21 August 1938 – 21 May 1991) was an Australian member of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart who worked as a missionary in Peru. She was executed there in 1991 by members of Sendero Luminoso ("Shining Path"), a Maoist rebel guerrilla organisation. In October 2010, Australian media reported McCormack's possible recognised sainthood after Mary MacKillop's canonisation. The Daily Telegraph reported that senior Peruvian and Australian Catholic clergy planned on preparing a submission to the Vatican for McCormack's cause after Mary MacKillop's canonisation. The Congregational Leader of the Sisters of St Joseph, Sister Ann Derwin, said that people in Huasahuasi, who already regarded McCormack as a saint, demanded this, since people judged to have been martyrs do not require evidence of miracles performed through their intercession.