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Susan McCarthy was born on January 1, 1862, at Maidstone, Essex County, Ontario. She was one of eleven children born to Jeremiah McCarthy and Susan McMahon. She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph congregation in London, Ontario, and received the habit on March 19, 1881, taking her final vows on December 8, 1883, at Mount Hope. Her religious name was Sister Mechtilde McCarthy. She taught at St. Peter’s School, London for 22 years and at the Roman Catholic school in Goderich for two years. In 1911 she was appointed Superior at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London The chapel at St. Joseph’s Hospital was built under the guidance of Sister Mechtilde. It is of classic Renaissance architecture and Romanesque design. The whole chapel was a model of artistic taste and reflects on Sister Mechtilde under whose supervision it was erected. As the growth of the hospital kept pace with the city, an urgent need for larger facilities was realized and in 1914 work was begun to the west of the main building on an addition embodying the latest and best ideas of hospital construction and equipment.

In 1917, she was elected General Superior of the congregation. At that time there were 185 Sisters in the Community and the number of aged at the House of Providence was 212. The orphans at Mount St. Joseph orphanage numbered 231. In the Roman Catholic Schools the pupils numbered 1161 and in the hospitals there were 2573 patients. During her term of office she began a foundation in Edmonton which included a novitiate. A Eucharistic Congress was held at Mount St. Joseph in July 1923. The Community received approbation of the 1920 Constitutions which had been requested by Bishop Fallon in 1917. During her term of office, she began a foundation in Edmonton which included a novitiate. She left the office of General Superior in 1923 and continued mission work at St. Mary’s, Ingersoll, Belle River and at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario in 1934. She was General Superior from 1917-1923. She died on June 12, 1943.

Sister Angela was an accomplished musician who taught music, and was appointed the first music teacher at the Ingersoll convent when it opened in 1879.

On July 24, 1902 Sister Angela, who had been assistant to the Superior General, was elected to replace Mother Ignatia Campbell who held the office of Superior General since the inception of the Community in 1870. Mother Angela fulfilled admirably the task of fostering the spirit of the Congregation and of promoting the charitable works of the foundress, Mother Ignatia. During Mother Angela’s term of office, the east wing of St. Joseph’s Hospital in London was built and officially opened in 1903. Lord and Lady Minto, the Governor General of Canada and his wife, visited London and were present
for the opening. Our Lady of Mercy Convent in Sarnia was also opened; a new Chapel of St. Anne at Mount St. Joseph was built and consecrated in 1908 by Bishop McEvay before he left for Toronto; the expansions at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London and Chatham were completed. Mother Angela hosted a picnic at Mount St. Joseph for Sisters of all communities who were attending summer courses for teachers.

At election of officers in 1908 Mother Angela was re-elected for a third term. At this time the work of the Community in schools and other institutions flourished. However, in July 1911, Mother Angela McKeogh resigned her office and was then appointed Superior of the Mount Hope Community. Mother Angela died on September 17, 1943, at Mount St. Joseph in London, Ontario. She had served as General Superior from 1902-1911.

Katherine Joan McKeough was born on August 21, 1920, in Stratford, Perth County, Ontario, the daughter of Christopher James McKeough and Katherine Mary Devlin. She received her habit on October 15, 1945, at Sacred Heart Convent and took her final vows on January 3, 1951. She was given the religious name Sister Angela Felix and after the Second Vatican Council in 1962, she reverted to her baptismal name.

Sister Angela Felix spent her life in hospital ministry. She then attended the University of Western Ontario in London and earned a diploma in psychiatric nursing and in 1952 was appointed to a supervisory position in psychiatry at St. Joseph’s Hospital, London. She was named an instructor at the School of Nursing in London for two years. In 1956 Sister Angela Felix received a diploma in nursing education and in 1965 completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Then in 1967 she earned a Masters of Science in Adult Psychology at Boston University in Massachusetts. She held other positions at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London besides clinical supervisor in psychiatry, such as assistant to the executive director and supervisor of patient services. She held memberships in the Ontario Group Psychotherapy Association; the Canadian College of Health Service Executives; the American Society for Hospital Nursing Service and Administration. She served as board member of the London Psychiatric Hospital, the Catholic Hospital Association of Canada, and St. Joseph’s Hospitals in Chatham and Sarnia. She was President of the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada from 1985 to 1986, was a member of the Administrative Council of the Catholic Religious Conference and Vice-President of the Catholic Religious Conference of Ontario.

In 1971 Sister Katherine was elected to the General Council of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London and was named coordinator of health care for the Community and in 1979 she was elected General Superior. She died on April 13, 2006.

John Clement McKeown (1934-2022), son of Thomas and Laura McKeown, was raised in Markdale, Ontario. As a child, he received catechism lessons from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton, Ontario in Markdale. He graduated from Grade 13, received a teaching degree one year after, and attained a bachelor’s degree over many summers. He began his teaching career in a one-room school in Glenelg, and after the small schools were closed, he began working at St. Theresa in Midland. He would board in Midland during the week and returned to Markdale on weekend to assist on the family farm and was a caretaker for his parents as they grew older. He retired from teaching in 1989 and kept many letters of appreciation from his students. That same year he married Helen Woodcock. Together they volunteered playing piano for seniors at Grey Gables and playing the organ at their church. McKeown often listened to 560 CFOS radio station and participated in their Friday Call-In’s, enjoyed the “Looking Back in History” section of the Flesherton Advance, and was fond of chocolate. He passed on Sunday, Mary 27, 2022 at the age of 88.

Medaille Retreat House was founded in 1969 as a community retreat centre where members of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph could stay to spend time in prayer and contemplation. The house was named after Fr. Jean-Pierre Medaille, who established the Sisters of St. Joseph at Le Puy, France in 1650. The building which became Medaille House was located on Windermere Road. The grounds had originally belonged to Hellmuth College, and when the property was sold, some of the land was purchased by the Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1912, an eight-acre property adjoining Hellmuth College was also purchased, but later sold to the Nelles family who built a home and a gardener's house which they called Norwood Place, likely after the name of the original house built by Bishop Hellmuth which was named Norwood House. In 1943, the Sisters purchased the property back, and renamed the building St. Joseph's House of Studies. This building accommodated Sisters studying at the University of Western Ontario between 1949 and 1960.In 1960, the building was rented to Dr. J. J. McCredie. When the lease expired in 1969, it was decided to use the building as a community retreat centre, and it became Medaille Retreat House later that year. Sisters visited the retreat house for varying lengths of time ranging from a few hours of prayer to retreats lasting for several weeks.

Beginning in 1975 with their “Time Out” program, a 48-hour retreat for single mothers, Medaille House welcomed members of the public for courses and retreat experiences. Groups from churches, educational institutions, community organizations, and health care facilities attended programs at the retreat centre. In addition to the many programs designed to offer peace and spiritual connection, a beautiful labyrinth was added to the grounds in 1998 as a walking meditation tool. In response to a growing need, the Sisters created a new space for service and instruction in the Ignatia Hall auditorium at Mount St. Joseph. Located on the first floor, the newly refurbished space was called Medaille Program Centre. Programs began here in the fall of 1990, running until 2006.

During its years of greatest activity, Medaille House welcomed over 2,000 participants over an eight-month period from September 1992 to May 1993. After a closing ceremony on October 30, 2004, Medaille House moved to a new property, formerly known as Highview, at 545 Fanshawe Park Road West. The new Medaille House location opened on March 2, 2005. The original building on Windermere Road was demolished in July, 2005 in order to build the new Motherhouse. The demolition involved Habitat for Humanity volunteers participating in the dismantling so that materials could be re-cycled through the Re-Store. Programs at Medaille Program Centre were discontinued in 2006. In 2012, the Medaille Retreat House finally closed.

Today the CSJ Spirituality Centre carries on the work of Medaille House by providing spiritual direction, while retreats may still be arranged at the new Motherhouse on Windermere Road.

Julia Cecilia Moore was born on November 30, 1911, to Francis (Frank) Joseph Moore (d. 1938) and Julia Camilla Coughlin (d. 1965) in St. Thomas, Ontario. Active in the St. Thomas community growing up, Cecilia was a summer lifeguard at Alma College Pool, and served as recreational director at her alma mater, St. Joseph’s High School, during her college years in the 1930’s. Having obtained an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and French from the University of Western Ontario, Cecilia went on to obtain a high school assistant certificate in English and History from the Ontario College of Education in Toronto. Cecilia entered the congregation in London, Ontario in 1935 at Sacred Heart Convent and received the habit and religious name of Sister Julia on August 25th, 1936. She professed her first vows on August 25th, 1938, and her final vows on August 25th, 1941 in the Chapel of Sacred Heart Convent. Sister Julia began teaching at St. Michael’s School in London, with teaching assignments at Roman Catholic high schools in St. Thomas and Sarnia, during which time she completed a Master of Arts Degree in French at Laval University. She eventually became the principal at Catholic Central High School in London. After two years as a principal, Sister Julia was elected General Superior in 1959. She held the position until 1971, then served four years as a General Councilor.

Her leadership had an impact on many aspects of the Sisters of St. Joseph’s involvement in education, health care, social work, retreat work and missions in Peru and Northern Canada. Mother Julia was also named Health Care Coordinator of the community, serving five hospitals and two chronic care hospitals. She was the Superior of the community of Sisters at St. Joseph’s Hospital, and a member of the pastoral care team, during which time she studied theology and scripture during a sabbatical year at Regina Mundi College in Rome. In 1979, Mother Julia returned to Mount St. Joseph where she directed retreats, and served as a spiritual director as well as a historian for the Congregation, and a consultant for the archives department. Mother Julia’s work, Beginnings in London Diocese 1868-1879, was presented to the Canadian Catholic Historical Society in 1978 and published by the London Roman Catholic School Board. Mother Julia died on October 5th, 1995.

Mount Saint Joseph Academy was a school for girls directed by the Sisters of St. Joseph from 1950 to 1985. It was initially located at Sacred Heart Convent with a mere six students. In 1953, it moved to the newly built Mount St. Joseph convent. At this time, there were 26 students but by 1957, this number had grown to 105 students (80 girls resided at the school and 25 were day students). In 1958, the Academy was moved to a newly completed wing in the Mount St. Joseph complex.

The mission of the Academy was to provide secondary education for girls in which the Catholic faith was integrated into the curriculum and school life. Students had the option of being day students if they lived in the area or boarders if they came from far away. Students came from across Canada and 10%-15% came from other countries including the West Indies, Mexico, and Hong Kong.

Music was always an important part of life at the Academy, perhaps due to the influence of the St. Joseph’s School of Music which was also staffed by the Sisters. Students who wished to learn to play musical instruments did so on their own time, usually through the School of Music. They could also volunteer to join the Glee Club, one of the choirs, or the choral group called the Academy Singers which was well-known in the area.

In addition to regular curriculum classes, students were required to sign up for an activity for their enrichment and cultural development. These activities included photography, driving school, typing, fencing, drama, ballet, horseback riding, charm class, scripture study, physical education, crafts, and home economics club.

The Academy closed in 1985, and the wing that it occupied became a guest wing for relatives of hospitalized patients. It is estimated that over the course of 32 years, between 2,000 and 3,000 students received at least part of their high school education at the Academy. In 2005, the building was sold by the Sisters.