Sisters of the Cross and Passion

 

I will try with all my strength to follow in the footsteps of my Jesus. 

 

If I am afflicted, abandoned, desolate, I will keep Him company in the Garden. 

 

If  I am despised and injured, I will keep him company in the Praetorium.

 

If  I am depressed and afflicted in the agonies of suffering, I will keep Him company on the Cross with a lance in my heart.

 

These words describe the source of comfort and strength for Elizabeth Prout (Mother Mary Joseph) and others who have followed a call to the Sisters of the Cross and Passion, of which she is foundress. 

 

The order's beginnings date to the industrial revolution in Manchester, England. The times called for strong people to work against the filth, danger, and ignorance that abounded in living conditions of the new factory towns. The place, the midlands of England, called for people of faith sturdy in the face of deep anti-Catholic prejudices.