History & Religious Sponsorship

History of Ascension

Carrying forward the 800-year international legacy of our founding congregations and a promise rooted in the 2,000-year ministry of Jesus Christ, we continue to adapt and evolve to serve our communities today.

Guided by courage, compassion, and innovation, our founding congregations came from Europe in the 1800s to establish schools, orphanages, and clinics.

Today, we continue that ministry as one health system serving communities across the country with dedication and excellence.

Our founding congregations

 

 

Daughters of Charity (U.S. ministry established 1809)

Opened the first Catholic healthcare institution in the country in St Louis, Missouri in 1828, pioneering integrated care systems before co-founding Ascension in 1999.

A historical sketch of a grand, symmetrical three-story brick hospital building with pillars and a central cupola. Elegant script at the top reads, "Hospital of the Sisters of Charity," and the bottom reads, "St. Louis, MO."
A historical sketch of a grand, symmetrical three-story brick hospital building with pillars and a central cupola. Elegant script at the top reads, "Hospital of the Sisters of Charity," and the bottom reads, "St. Louis, MO."


Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (U.S. ministry
established 1836)

​

Established a variety of ministries across the country, starting in Illinois and Missouri, before opening Arizona’s first hospital in Tucson in 1880.



The Alexian Brothers (U.S. ministry established 1866)



Rooted in a legacy of care dating to Europe's Black Plague, the Brothers started their work in the U.S. by battling the historic cholera epidemic in Chicago with deep compassion.



Historic black and white photo of over thirty men from the Alexian Brothers community posing in rows against a brick wall. German and English text below reads, "Brothers of the Community in the Alexian Convent at Chicago."
A historic, wide-angle group photograph showing rows of Sisters of The Sorrowful Mother, seated outdoors with a priest in the center.


Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother (U.S. ministry established in 1889)

​

Arriving in Kansas to run St. Francis Hospital, the Sisters quickly expanded their health and housing ministries wherever the need was greatest, from major cities to remote logging camps.



Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth (U.S. ministry established in 1889)



Driven by a dedication to serve their “dear neighbors,” the Sisters brought that spirit to Michigan during the 1918 flu epidemic, before co-founding Ascension in 1999.



Historic black and white photograph of Catholic sisters and medical staff tending to patients in a hospital ward.

Continuing our legacy

  • 1999: Daughters of Charity National Health System and Sisters of St. Joseph Health System unite to form Ascension Health.
  • 2002–2007: Carondelet Health System joins and Ascension Health is recognized as the largest Catholic healthcare system in the U.S.Congregation of St. Joseph is formed, including the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth.
  • 2012–2013: Ascension is officially established as a parent organization, welcoming Alexian Brothers and the health ministries of the former Marian Health System.
  • 2014–2018: Ascension Senior Living is established and Ascension at Home is launched to unify existing home care services; major health systems of Crittenton (MI), Wheaton Franciscan (WI), and Presence Health (IL) officially integrate into the Ascension ministry.
  • Today: One of the nation’s leading non-profit, faith-based health systems, serving communities across 36 states and the District of Columbia.

Sponsorship

Building on the heritage of our five founding religious congregations, Ascension transitioned to a unified, non-congregational model in 2010. In 2011, the Vatican approved the creation of a single Ascension Sponsor, a Ministerial Public Juridic Person. 

Today, the Ascension Sponsor is made up of both religious and lay members, who guide and sustain our Ministry and Mission for the generations to come.