The Hurricane Lady

It is told that a sea captain in the early 1800s was near Florida on a cargo ship from Spain. A storm arose so the captain did what was done in the time period; he started throwing things overboard to lighten his load. A crew member came up and said there was a Madonna in the hold of the ship. No one on board remembered seeing it loaded and it didn’t have any tag on it saying where it was going or who it was from. It has been said that the captain his crew offered the following prayer,

“Dear Lady, if you will get us safely into port, we will place your statue with the first Christian family we meet,”

after which the winds subsided and the ship limped into the St. Augustine port. The statue was passed down through St. Augustine families to where it current

presides, in the O’Reilly House Museum

of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

"...that all may be one..." (John 17:21)

The Sisters of Saint Joseph of St. Augustine, Florida are a congregation of Catholic women living the consecrated life as vowed religious serving the needs of the dear neighbor in Florida. With their Motherhouse in St. Augustine, Florida, the Sisters of St. Joseph are women who, seized by God’s love, work in collaboration with others to bring union and reconciliation to our world, “..that all may be one..” (John 17:21). They strive to live lives of Gospel values through a variety of ministries of service and through the witness of living together in prayer-centered communities. They have served continuously in Florida since 1866.