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This series consists of newsletters produced by the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Hamilton diocese. These newsletters cover various topics and events, such as healthcare and pilgrimages, discussions about daily life including feast days and projects, messages from Sisters, as well as news about the surrounding geographical locale. A list of deceased Sisters and family members, information about ministries, memorial biographical sketches, and Chapter information are also topics included in the newsletters. These newsletters are important sources for gaining a better understanding of the Sisters’ daily lives and learning more about their charitable works and efforts. Sisters were very actively engaged in charitable work, with several projects occurring, such as hospital work, orphan care, and missions aiding Canadian Indigenous communities, as well as helping the poor in developing countries. Locations of Sisters’ missions and ministries include, but are not limited to, Fort St. James, Neyaashiinigmiing [Cape Croker], Kenilworth, Guelph, Jamaica, Kitchener, Hamilton, Guatemala, and Fort St. John.

The series contains oral histories and autobiographies of some of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the London Diocese. Many of the oral histories included were conducted for the Federation Collaborative History Project. The Federation includes the Congregations of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Toronto, Hamilton, London, Peterborough, Pembroke, and Sault Ste. Marie. The oral histories included in the Federation project are those of a select few Sisters. These Sisters are Noella Armstrong, Mary Doyle, Augustine Long, Margaret Ferris, and Cathleen Flynn. The Sisters discussed memories of their childhood and their lives before entering the convent, the call to service, and stories of their years preparing to become a professed Sister. This series includes digital and printed transcripts of oral history interviews with the Sisters, e-mail correspondence regarding the Federation oral history project, and a newspaper clipping.

This series contains records reflecting the policies and procedures of the congregation from the late 1960s to the mid-2000s. Included in the series are community handbooks and Called to Unity booklets (guidance for the Sisters in their union with God and the community), both of which discuss the Sisters’ role within and outside the congregation. Topics include community prayer, education, donations, finances, legal advice and procedures, and travel policies. Also included are position papers detailing how a Sister is to behave and conduct herself as a member of the congregation, which were prepared by various committees including the spiritual life commission, habit commission, commission on education, and homemaking commission. Records relating to congregational staff include the Human Resource Policies Handbook, which details the roles and responsibilities related to the working environment. The other records in this series pertain to the congregation as a whole; these include policies and procedures regarding sexual misconduct, abuse, and how such misconduct is reported and dealt with in the congregation. Also included is policy pertaining to the appropriate use of technology, such as computers and the Internet. There are also correspondence, memos, and reports related to the development of policy by the travel committee, who mediated discussions around the Sisters’ travel.

This series contains material related to the receptions and professions of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London, Ontario. The records are primarily concerned with Sisters who had their receptions and professions in London, Ontario and at the mission in Edmonton, Alberta. This series includes records related to the vows and vow ceremonies, which are the rituals involved in becoming a member of a religious community. These ceremony records include correspondence, invitations, seating charts, guest lists, and forms of vows. The first receptions occurred at Mount Hope which was the Sisters’ first motherhouse in London, and a historical summary of those early ceremonies is present. There are also scripts for speeches and homilies and written accounts. Photographs, prayers, and ephemera including booklets, programs, and newspaper clippings from these ceremonies are also present. One photograph is of the reception of a class of Sisters who had been recruited from Ireland by Sister Julia Moore. One pamphlet is from the 1987 Profession of the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel of the Diocese of Ekiti, Nigeria. Various lists of Sisters’ ceremony dates, stages of religious life, deaths and withdrawals are also included. The vows present here are primarily in bound volumes, though some are on individual sheets of paper. Many of the volumes have related correspondence, renewals, or scripts for the vows (referred to as forms) tucked or pasted within. The vows are generally formulaic, though some are unique. Some, mainly first vows, list the Sisters’ hometown, age, and parents.

This series contains records that pertain to the renewal programs held in the summers of 1974, 1980 and 1981. The program included times of reflection, communal study and teaching presentations. This series includes photographs, a newspaper article, event programs, prepared sermons, lists of attendees, teaching guides, personal reflections, speaking notes, planning committee minutes, a facility map, agendas for meetings and renewal sessions, correspondence and bibliographies.

Series contains Sister Norita Keenan’s single page memoir, a postulant requirement list, souvenir booklet of the Diamond Jubilee, chaplain list, meal seating plan, farewell ceremony agenda and schedule, photographs, land and property maintenance receipts, property sketch, chronology of property transfers and sales, rededication ceremony program and speech, letter from General Superior to Sisters, decorative Christmas card and envelope with list of donors of a car, newspaper clippings, student created books, and Bach sheet music owned by Cesar Borre.

The series contains photographs, biographical material pertaining to her election to General Council, her MA in Sacred Theology from Regis College in 1983, her Doctor of Ministry degree from Toronto School of Theology in 1990, her employment at Regis College as Director of the MA in Ministry and Spirituality Program, various news-clippings, a hand painted Feast Day album, a hand painted card from the Precious Blood Sisters in 1979, and various Jubilee memorabilia. The series also contains different versions of Sister Cathleen’s curriculum vitae, a report by her about a pilgrimage she made to Europe and the Holy Land, and a paper written about Sister Cathleen by her grandson, Brandon Graham, in 2017.

Much of this series is made up of reports to the General Chapter from various Sisters in 1979. There is extensive material on the topic of catechetics, religious education and the future for Sisters in parish ministry. In a letter to the Secretary of State, Vatican Apostolic College, Mother Mary Brendan reported on the success of literacy programs provided to Portuguese immigrants in London. A report from the Archdiocese in Edmonton describes the need for a five-year National Religion Program consisting of teams of Sisters providing instruction in Catholic schools, and the involvement of lay people to provide instruction to adults.

A report on the activities of the St. Joseph’s School of Music 1975-1979 discusses the renovation of the Recital Hall, instruction in piano, singing, violin and music theory for 390 students annually, participation in the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and the Western Conservatory, a scholarship fund, professional development for the Sisters and the hosting of and participation in local music festivals. A report by one Sister in April, 1979 expresses uncertainty as to the future of the music school.

In early 1979, Mother Mary Brendan wrote to Sisters across the country seeking their views in response to the promulgation of Vatican II, the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World. One Sister wrote with concern for the socio-economic interests of the Third World and rising tensions within the Christian communities about how to respond. In another report, Sister St. Patrick Joyce outlined what were novel recommendations for the treatment of alcohol addiction and the concept of detoxification centres. Sisters committed to the continuation of work of the Boulee Street mission which served the needs of a low income neighborhood in London and support for those in jail. In another report, a Sister wrote on the topic of evangelization and Christian renewal in a climate of diversity, pluralism and the attraction to Eastern spiritual disciplines. In another report, one Sister called for an increased commitment to youth and adults through solid religious instruction and the teaching of prayer. There is also a survey, report, and recommendations prepared for the Most Reverend J.N. MacNeil by the Ad Hoc Committee for Pastoral Assistants in the Archdiocese of Edmonton, February 1979 outlining the scope of work and hiring of pastoral assistants to aid priests in their work.

On the topic of the higher incidence of divorce and the Marriage Tribunal, Sisters recommended that more women study, teach and write about the Canon law conventions and procedures in jurisprudence. There are several reports outlining emergent changes within the healthcare system related to governance, administration, funding, personnel, medico-moral issues, medical treatments, and technology. Sisters confirm there was a common need for continued pastoral care at the hospitals in London, Sarnia, and Windsor. It was observed that there were increasing needs for retreats for Sisters and lay volunteers offered by the Medaille House in London and for societal formation, or a reorientation to religious life.

This series contains sixteen speeches written by Mother Mary Brendan and a paper she wrote for the Synod on the role of religious women in the community through teaching, hospital care, administration, and social work. Certificates of her educational achievements and professional memberships dating from 1947 to 2001 are included along with a certificate she received with a medal from Queen Elizabeth.
 

This sous-fonds consists of five scrapbooks created by Sister Chrysostom Murphy of her religious community in London, Ontario, two photographs of all the Sisters in the community taken in 1993, the copy of the new constitutions she received when the London congregation amalgamated with three other congregations in 2012, and her diploma for her Master of Education degree. The scrapbooks are primarily concerned with the Sisters, their residences, and Sister Chrysostom’s reception and jubilees. The scrapbooks contain photographs, clippings, postcards, icons of Saints, prayer cards, funeral cards, biographies of Sisters, celebration speeches, invitations, pamphlets, tickets, and obituaries and photographs of Sisters, priests, and bishops. Notable material includes photographs of the interior and exterior of Mount St. Joseph in London, photographs of Sister Chrysostom’s jubilees, and Bishop Roland Fabbro’s statement in response to the conviction of Father Charles Sylvestre.