In the middle of the 18th century, nuns belonging to the order of St. Joseph the Apparition arrived in Jerusalem in 1848. They continued to increase in numbers until they arrived at Bethlehem in 1853 in answer to the request from the Franciscan fathers.
Their challenging work continued zealously starting from one room not fit for residence; nevertheless, they started teaching young women the basic things during a time when women were not allowed to learn, then they moved on to teaching embroidery and handcrafts until they were able to obtain more space attributable to the help of the parish priest at the time. From then on, the number of students increased so much so that the four-class space was not enough to incorporate the number. To solve the dilemma the students (kindergarten through 5th grade) were moved to another building owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph located near Bethlehem University now in 1967.
