The vision or grace of the Epiphany Community began in 1997 and was discerned by Sister Gilchrist through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises to be a diverse community of sisters and lay members whose mission is to support families marginalized by disability and homelessness. Sister Gilchrist, then a Sister of Notre Dame, continued to discern this new call with her superior general in Rome, who confirmed Sister's discernment that she should go forward.
The vision, or grace, sprang from a program initiated by Sister Gilchrist in the Diocese of St. Petersburg which developed inclusionary practices in Catholic School classrooms for students with disabilities. The program expanded to the Diocese of Venice to initially include 12 Catholic Schools and 14 publics schools, focusing on families, teachers and students, in respect to students with disabilities. The program then reached out to over 900 Catholic schools around the country and parts are used in every school in Japan.
