Josephites (Maryland) in the context of "Philip Berrigan"

The Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Latin: Societas Sodalium Sancti Joseph a Sacra Corde), also known as the Josephites, is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Members work specifically among African Americans and take the postnominals SSJ.

The Josephites were formed in 1893 by a group of Mill Hill priests working with newly-freed Black people emancipated during the American Civil War. The founders included Fr John R. Slattery, who led the group and would become the first Josephite superior general, and one of the nation's first black priests, Fr Charles Uncles. With permission from the Mill Hill leaders in England and the Archbishop of Baltimore, Cardinal James Gibbons, the group established the Josephites as an independent mission society based in America and dedicated totally to the African-American cause.