The first Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada came to Toronto from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia, in the fall of 1851. In 1852 five sisters from the mother-house at Toronto established a foundation at Hamilton, where they at once opened an orphanage and began their work in the parochial schools of the city. On the erection of the Diocese of Hamilton in 1856, the community became a separate diocesan congregation, and a few months later a novitiate was established at Hamilton. By the passage of the Separate Schools Bill in 1856 the sisters were given control of the education of the Catholic children of the city. The congregation gradually extended its activities to other parts of the diocese. The Neighbour to Neighbour Program, St. Joseph’s Women’s Immigrant Centre and Hamilton Out of the Cold are but three more recent (25 years) local initiatives where the Sisters have been instrumental in the start-up.