Faithful Companions of Jesus

The Faithful Companions of Jesus Sisters (FCJ Sisters, French: Fidèles compagnes de Jésus) is a Christian religious institute of the Roman Catholic Church directly subject to the Pope.

The FCJ sisters first arrived in Australia in 1882 and soon founded a school in Richmond, an inner suburb in Melbourne.

They built a new convent and boarding school which marked the establishment of Genazzano FCJ College.

An interesting perspective on the FCJ sisters is given in God's Callgirl, the autobiography of Carla van Raay (Australia, 2004) in which the author describes joining the institute at the age of 18 in 1956, and her subsequent 12 years as a novice and sister, before voluntarily leaving at the age of 30.

This period coincided with Vatican II, which resulted in a number of strict rules being relaxed.