Historical background:

The Congregation of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod was born in 1838 at Chavanod, a little village of Savoie, in the south east of France. At that time there lived at Chavanod, in the service of the presbytery, a pious, energetic and devoted person Claudine Echernier. At the age of 27, in the presbytery of Chavanod, she began to gather around her, children and young girls of the parish to teach them reading, writing and catechism.

Fr.Peter Mermier, who was the Founder of the missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, came to preach the retreat at Chavanod, found in Claudine Echernier the growing desire in spiritual life advised her to continue to teach the poor young girls. Drawn by her example, some of the young girls asked her to share her life. The intuition of Fr. Mermier and his apostolic sense enlightened by the Holy Spirit and stimulated by the needs of the times, permitted this nucleus of young girls gathered around Claudine to become the first community of the Sisters of the Cross. Thus was born in extreme poverty and great simplicity a Congregation. It permitted the poor young girls to live consecrated life in the midst of the world. By their service and example, our sisters “set the tone” in the parishes, institutions and villages and helped them to come out of their ignorance and poverty.

The congregation, founded in 1838, was recognized by a letter from Mgr. Rey on 4 November 1841. Among the first sisters, some were teachers in rural areas; others were workers in families and high schools of the diocese. All of them were committed to make the Lord known and loved and to serve the neediest. They went to Switzerland in 1862.

 When Mother Claudine died in 1869, there were already 300 sisters in the congregation.

 In 1886, a glorious page in the history of the congregation opened on the horizon with the first foundation in India. From 1886 to 1921, sixty-six European sisters embarked on a mission to India. In 1951, sisters in India opened a community in Sri Lanka. Many communities were established in various countries and on other continents:

In Central Africa: Congo Brazzaville (1958), Cameroon (1987), Democratic Republic of Congo (2022)

In East Africa: Tanzania (1979), Kenya (2000), Uganda (2006)

In other Asian countries: Nepal (1985) and Israel (1986)

In Latin America: Peru (1989), Colombia (1996), Ecuador (2006) and in the USA in 2002.

Thus, the congregation took on an international dimension to accomplish its mission in four continents.

Bearing the official title of the “Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod”, the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is for each sister an inexhaustible source of strength and joy to live her vocation as a disciple, a call to reveal the infinite love of God to all humanity.

Following in the footsteps of Mother Claudine Echernier and Fr. Pierre-Marie Mermier, the Sisters of the Cross are nourished and guided by the life witness and the writings of St. Francis de Sales and St. Ignatius of Loyola.