This series contains a short historical summary of Marygrove, a retreat house established by Sister Barbara Hughs and Sister Ann Purtill of Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario. The historical summary covers a period of activities at Marygrove from 1992 until 2005. The activities written about in the summary include welcoming and serving meals to guests, taking care of the house cats and dog, gardening, canning, shopping, housecleaning, and laundering. There is a report written by Sister Veronica O’Reilly after attending a “Visions,” workshop from July 31 to August 2, 1992. The report includes a summary of seven groups expressing their vision of a religious community. There is also a brochure inviting people to visit Marygrove’s official opening on April 18, 1993, and a guestbook of a log of visitors from 1992 to 2005. In addition, there are photographs of the interior and exterior of Marygrove, the Sisters planting trees, and the animal companions.
Sin títuloThis series contains the history of the Chatham Mission in Chatham, Ontario of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario from 1982 to 2012. It contains historical summaries written by Sister Ann Purtill on the activities at the residence on Robinson Avenue, Chatham, Ontario, and historical summaries written by Sister Mary Diane Cahill on the activities at the residence on Dufferin Avenue, Chatham, Ontario. Some of the topics include moving in and out days, house renovation and landscaping, jubilees and seasonal celebrations, attending retreats and workshops, Bursary Meetings, General Chapter Meetings, Associate Business Meetings, and the Regional Conference for Associates. There is also an inventory list of furniture that was transported from London to Chatham, Ontario by the Aero Mayflower Transit Company Limited, on August 25, 1982.
Sin títuloThis series contains the annals of St. Joseph’s Convent and St. Joseph’s School in Kingsbridge, Ontario, from 1839 to 1942 by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario. Topics regarding St. Joseph’s School include teaching classes, student academic progression, and repairs and improvements to the building. Topics regarding St. Joseph’s Convent include the comings and goings of Sisters and activities such as retreats, celebrations, devotional days, and harvesting fruit from the apple trees in the yard. There are also topics on St. Joseph’s Church that concern the building such as replacing the broken tabernacle and the fallen cross on the tower as well as repairing two stained glass windows. There are several lists pertaining to the Kingsbridge Mission, such as the Sisters who were stationed in St. Joseph’s Convent, Sisters who entered St. Joseph’s Community, and priests who served in the Kingsbridge Parish. There are also photographs of the Kingsbridge Convent, Sisters during a 1953 summer reunion at St. Joseph’s Church in Kingsbridge, and Sisters Sebastion Murphy and Vincent Halford with Father Michael McCormack and students.
This series also contains other material related to Kinsbridge. There is a brochure from 1980 commemorating the 75th anniversary of St. Joseph’s Church in Kingsbridge. There is a newspaper article from 2006 about the closing of St. Joseph’s School in Kingsbridge and the transfer of 54 students to St. Joseph’s School in Clinton, Ontario. In addition, there is a souvenir booklet commemorating the 75th anniversary of St. Augustine Church in the Wawanosh Parish, Ontario. The booklet has short articles on the history of the parish, the construction of churches, St. Augustine School, St. Augustine Cemetery, St. Augustine Catholic Women’s League, printed pictures of parishioners and buildings in the Wawanosh area, and lists of Sisters, Priests, and Organists.
Sin títuloThis series contains the chronicles of St. Joseph’s Convent in Kinkora, Ontario by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario. There are short histories about the activities of the Sisters during their residency at St. Joseph’s Convent in Kinkora and their work at St. Patrick’s School, including drafts, excerpts, and summaries from 1842 to 1976. The topics include the arrival of Sisters to Kinkora, benefactors, low class attendance due to epidemics (measles, scarlet fever, influenza, and infantile paralysis), student achievements and graduations, Annual Fall Fair and Parade, Rostock Fair, the Milverton Music Festival, public speaking and singing contests, Christmas school concerts and high-school music recitals, school open houses, and Parent Teacher Association meetings. There are other topics such as students from the Stratford Teachers College who completed their teacher practicum at St. Patrick’s School, the first broadcast of Pope Pius XI, the introduction of hydroelectricity in Kinkora, the influx of Dutch families in the district, and the purchase of playground equipment, a film projector, and a new car. The Sisters also participated in celebrations; attended professional development days in Kinkora, Seaforth, and Stratford; organized the annual turkey bingo and draw fundraiser; made improvements to the convent after floods in the basement; weathered severe snowstorms and fierce blizzard; and made repairs to the plumbing system due to frost, and this participation is recorded in the annals.
There are several lists including Sisters who taught in Kinkora at St. Patrick’s School; Sisters who entered the religious community from Kinkora; and Priests who served in the Parish of Kinkora. There is correspondence regarding the history of St. Patrick’s School, the hiring of lay teachers, the dropping of classes from Grades 9 to 12, and the formation of the Perth-Huron Separate School Board. There are also newspaper articles related to the parish history of Kinkora, St. Patrick’s School reunion, the 50th anniversary of the Sisters presence in Kinkora, and the “Day of Appreciation” for Sisters who were stationed in Kinkora. There is a news clipping that provides a historical sketch on Kinkora authored by Reverend Thomas Peter Hussey titled, “Kinkora Parish History is One of Fine Progress,” published in the Stratford Herald, in 1928. There is a lease for St. Joseph’s Convent in Kinkora between the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Board of Trustees of St. Patrick’s School.
This series contains several small booklets. One booklet was prepared and published by the St. Patrick’s School Board of Trustees on the history of Kinkora School and includes lists of teaching Sisters, lay teachers, school enrollment, trustees, and the Board of Trustees. Another booklet was prepared and published by St. Patrick’s Church on the history of the parish and includes a letter from the Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Elliot Trudeau. This booklet also contains printed pictures of Irish families, news clippings, a map of the parish, cartoon drawings, and various lists such as the school staff, teaching Sisters, Parent Teacher Association Executive Committee, and the Catholic Women’s League. There are also handmade souvenir hymn booklets for the farewell celebration, pamphlets on the official opening of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic School of Kinkora, and promotional brochures advertising for a Catholic Education in the Huron-Perth Counties. There is also a postcard of the interior of St. Patrick’s Church, printed pictures of the exterior of St. Joseph’s Convent, photographs of a plaque given to the Sisters who taught at St. Patrick’s School, and a class photo of a Sister with her students.
Sin títuloThis series contains the chronicles of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario, during their mission from 1939 to 1976, at St. Joseph’s Convent in the Sacred Heart Parish in Langton, Ontario. There are annals that record the various activities of the Sisters serving as teachers, administers, and spiritual counsellors at the Sacred Heart School, the Sacred Heart Church, and in the Sacred Heart Convent in Langton, as well as within the surrounding area. Topics include the arrival of the first group of Sisters to Langton, the comings and goings of appointed Teacher Sisters to Sacred Heart School, Sisters going on retreats and attending workshops, Long Point Beach picnics with the students and parishioners, weathering severe snowstorms, and repairs, improvements, additions to and purchases for the convent, school, church, and rectory in the Parish of Sacred Heart. There is also record of annual events such as preparing the students for the singing and rhythm band contests at the Langton Fair, the opening and closing of the Catechetical Summer School, the chicken supper fundraiser, and the Catholic Women’s League Christmas Dinner. The annals also discuss the challenges students faced in attending classes due to the flu epidemic and having to help with the harvesting of tobacco, the Victory in Europe Day or V-E Day celebration on May 8, 1945 that marked the end of World War II, the construction and significance of the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, the formation of the Parent Teacher Association, the elected members of the newly formed Haldimand-Norfolk County Roman Catholic Separate School (RCSSC) Board, and the successful growth of the Annual Belgian Fair and development of the Ontario Belgian Fair Association.
There is also correspondence, yearbooks, lists of Sisters and Pastors appointed to Langton, and a program booklet on the official opening of the renovated and expanded Sacred Heart School in 1970. The correspondence is from 1938 to 1986 and relating to the request for Sisters to serve as teachers in Langton, information to create a list of Sisters who served in Langton, and the transportation of Sisters to their assigned workplaces within Langton, and to nearby Delhi and Tillsonburg, Ontario. The two yearbooks, one from 1949 and the other from 1962, were prepared and published by the Sacred Heart Parish and include short articles and printed pictures that highlight the achievements and history of the Sacred Heart Church in Langton.
Sin títuloThis series contains the history of the Delhi Mission in Southwestern Ontario by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario. In 1936, Father John Uyen started an educational program in Delhi, Ontario to provide catechism classes referred to as Catechetical Summer Vacation School (also known as Catechetical School, Summer School, or Vacation School). Father Uyen succeeded in obtaining permission to use two classrooms in a public school and arranged six classes for an enrollment of 201 students. In July 1937, Sisters St. Philip Traynor, Denise Sullivan, Clotilde Morrissey, and Claude Kelly from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario, arrived to provide catechetical instruction. Father Uyen appealed to the Reverend Mother Constance Dunn for a Separate School to be built for the Sisters to teach in. Construction began to build St. John Brebeuf School, a four-room school, as well as St. Joseph’s Convent next to St. John Brebeuf Church. There were also renovations to extend the Church with an attached rectory. The school, convent, and rectory officially opened in 1938. However, on September 3, 1938, when a new staff group comprised of Mother Gonzaga Langan and Sisters Claude Kelly, Lidwin Sparr, Pauline McGuire, and Brendan Doherty arrived at Delhi, the Convent was still incomplete but habitable. In good spirits the Sisters served as teachers and established a music school and a rhythm band. On November 6, 1938, the new school was blessed by Bishop Kidd, and the first musical recital was on June 24, 1939.
On January 18, 1953, the Sisters assisted with the formation of a Parent Teacher’s Association that was well received by the parishioners. In September 1954, a new apostolate in Waterford, Ontario opened to provide religion and choir classes. In 1957, the construction of a new four-room school, St. Frances Cabrini School, was started to accommodate the overflow of students from St. John Brebeuf School. St. Frances Cabrini School officially opened in Delhi on September 3, 1958, and Sister Mary Laura Landry was appointed principal. In 1959, there was a four-room addition to expand St. Frances Cabrini School due to increased enrollment. On July 1, 1966, the Sisters withdrew from the Parishes of La Salette and Delhi, but Sisters Maura McGuinness and Mary Louis McSherry commuted daily from Tillsonburg to continue teaching at St. John Brebeuf School and at St. Frances Cabrini School in Delhi until 1968.
The Villages of Delhi, La Salette, Walsh, and Waterford in Norfolk County, Ontario is situated on the traditional and Upper Canada Treaty Lands, including the Two Row Wampum Belt, and One Dish One Spoon Wampum treaty lands of the Anishinaabe, Attiwonderonk (Neutral), Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), and Mississauga Peoples.
Present in this series are historical summaries about St. Joseph’s Convent in Delhi, which covers the early settlement of Delhi to the withdrawal of the Sisters from the area. There is also a chronicle of activities and events in Norfolk County, detailing the Sisters missions in Delhi, La Salette, Walsh, and Waterford. Some activities and events include teaching, supporting culturally and linguistically diverse students and parishioners, severe weather, a door-to-door fundraising campaign, and assisting those seeking food, shelter, and employment.
There are two booklets. One is titled, Solemn Blessing of St. John Brebeuf and Companions Church, St. Frances Cabrini School, dated December 16, 1957. This booklet includes a brief history of the parish, a short article about the school, priests who served in the area, Trustees of Delhi Separate School Board, names of Grade 1 to 8 students, printed pictures of the teaching staff, altar boys, girls choir, and adult choir, and the newly built St. John de Brebeuf School. The other program booklet titled, The Silver Jubilee Year of Our Parish – St. John Brebeuf and Companions Church is about fundraising work.
This series also contains several lists of Sisters who served as principals and teachers, Sisters who taught at the Summer School, pastors, and benefactors. There is also correspondence between Sister Mary Zimmer and Ann M. Dol, Secretary of St. Frances Cabrini School on planning the celebration of the school’s 50-year anniversary in Delhi, a newspaper advertisement for the sale of St. Joseph’s Convent in Delhi, and news clippings related to Reverend Father John Uyen. There are also photographs of St. Joseph’s Convent, St. Frances Cabrini School, St. John de Brebeuf Church and School in Delhi as well as Father John Uyen, Seminarians Mr. A. Meloche and Mr. Oroskovits, and Sisters St. Philip Traynor, Denise Sullivan, Clotilde Morrissey, and Claude Kelly posing with pupils in front of a public school in Delhi, 1937.
Sin títuloThis series contains annals for the Perú mission of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario. Records are in the English and Spanish language. There are historical summaries, notebooks, legal documents, lists, correspondences, newsletters, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, promotional material, a scrapbook, artwork, photo albums, and loose photographs. These items provide a glimpse into the northern Perú mission work and humanitarian aid carried out by the Sisters in the Zaña Valley Parish from 1962 to 1994. These records document the activities and events of the Sisters in pastoral care, social activism and advocacy, in the fields of healthcare, education, and community development. Some highlighted topics included in the records are the: founding and early history of the Perú ministry, the teaching, nursing, and counseling in the rural areas, the sale and transfer of motor vehicles and property, the opening and closing of a medical clinic called the Consultorio San José, the establishment of a women’s centre named Our Lady of the Magnificat (also known as Centro Vacacional), the formation of local leaders within the church and society, and the new ministries which emerged from working with the residents to build up ecclesial communities, charismatic prayer groups, pre-marital and family counseling, and the theological training of youth leaders, lay catechists, and worker apostolates that resulted in current day parishes led by Peruvian laity, religious workers, and priests.
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