to transfer ownership and sponsorship to a Catholic health system. As the majority of ministries increased in California, Los Angeles was selected as seat of the western province and established in 1903. Academies were established as early as 1882, Mount St. Mary's College (now University) was founded in 1925, and Sisters were teaching in parish schools in five states. Work with the deaf, a treasured tradition since the first days in St. Louis, flourished for many years in Oakland and San Francisco. In 1925, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Lewiston, Idaho, joined the Carondelet congregation. In 2011, the Sisters of the Vice Province of Japan joined the Los Angeles Province as a region. From the first days in Arizona, education and health care merged naturally into other forms of care of the dear neighbor. Over the years, and especially after Vatican II, the Sisters’ work has expanded and diversified, including parish service, adult education, spiritual direction and retreat work, direct service of the poor, and justice activities. In July 2017, the Hawaii Vice Province, erected in 1956, officially joined the Los Angeles Province. Sponsored institutions Academy of Our Lady of Peace, San Diego; Carondelet High School, Concord, CA; St. Joseph High School, Lakewood, CA (philosophical sponsorship); St. Joseph Joshi Gakuen, Tsu, Japan; St. Mary's Academy, Inglewood, CA; Mount St. Mary's University, Los Angeles; St. Joseph Center, Venice, CA; St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN. Selected province works A Friendly Manor, Alexandria House, Circle the city, Get on the Bus, House of Yahweh, Villa Maria House of Prayer. Peru Vice Province In 1962, the Sisters of St. Joseph responded to the request of Pope John XXIII that religious communities send ten percent of their members as missionaries to Latin America. Governance The superior general and four general councillors, elected every six years by the whole congregation, form the general governing body, assisted by a superior provincial and four provincial councillors in each province. The provincial officers are appointed by the general officers every three years, as are the local superiors of all the provinces. In each provincial house, as in the mother-house, a novitiate is established. The term of postulantship extends from three to six months, the term of novitiate two years, after which annual vows are taken for a period of five years, when perpetual vows are taken. All are received on the same footing, all enjoy the same