TheFaithful Companions of Jesus Sisters (FCJ Sisters, French:Fidèles compagnes de Jésus) is a Christianreligious institute of theRoman Catholic Church directly subject to thePope. It was founded inAmiens inFrance in 1820 byMarie Madeleine de Bonnault d'Houët.
The FCJ sisters can be found in theAmericas,Asia,Australia andEurope.
The FCJ sisters first arrived in Australia in 1882 and soon founded a school in Richmond, an inner suburb in Melbourne.Vaucluse College FCJ was soon at capacity, so land was purchased inKew. They built a newconvent andboarding school which marked the establishment ofGenazzano FCJ College. In 1900 the Sisters set up a school in Benalla calledFCJ College and in 1968 founded Stella Maris Convent and boarding school inFrankston, Victoria. The Stella Maris Convent andVaucluse College FCJ have since closed.
Today, FCJ communities exist around the country.
In 2002 the Sisters joined with those inIndonesia and thePhilippines to form a new province—the Province of Asia-Australia. New foundations are to be established elsewhere inSouth East Asia.
An interesting perspective on the FCJ sisters is given inGod's Callgirl, the autobiography ofCarla van Raay (Australia, 2004) in which the author describes joining the institute at the age of 18 in 1956, and her subsequent 12 years as anovice and sister, before voluntarily leaving at the age of 30.[1]Vaucluse College FCJ,Genazzano FCJ College and Benalla are all mentioned in the book. This period coincided withVatican II, which resulted in a number of strict rules being relaxed.
Sourced from the fcjsisters website.[2]
St. Victoire's Convent, Hackney, London
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