This series contains records concerning the involvement of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke with St. Joseph’s Hospital in Barrhead, Alberta. The records cover the establishment of the hospital, the administration and operation of the hospital, the transfer of the hospital, and the Sisters’ involvement with the Catholic Hospital Association and the Alberta Hospital Association. Materials include financial records, agreements for the purchase and sale of property, annals, memoirs, pamphlets, booklets, newsletters, lot maps, hospital floor plans, hospital bylaws, correspondence, and photographs. The major topics within the correspondence include establishing and operating the hospital, finances, the purchase and sale of property, construction and renovations, Catholic hospitals and medical ethics in Alberta, the changing role of Sisters in the hospital, and the relinquishing of ownership of the hospital. The photographs are of the hospital and Sisters at various events and locations.
Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada (Pembroke, Ont.)This series contains the annals of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton, Ontario’s ministry in Guatemala. In October 1963, Sisters Francis Xavier Ruth, Marie Garnier (Joan) McMahon and Bertille Riordan started a mission in Guatemala. They traveled to Teculután to establish a school. A construction committee was formed to buy a plot of land the belonged to the Casteñeda-Rossal family for the school and convent. The town gave half of the land to the Sisters and Don Carlos Piaz of the construction committee provided the other half. The Sisters raised funds to pay for the construction of the buildings. The school opened on January 18, 1965. It was officially inaugurated and named Colegio San José on March 19, 1965. The school offered both elementary and secondary programs and was fully approved by the Guatemalan Ministry of Education. Education was also extended through the airwaves, where literacy programs were broadcast. Evangelization work occurred through catechetics in the schools, the local parish, and through radio programs. In the 1970s, a beca program was created. This program collected donations in-order-to help fund children’s education.
Several other projects were initiated in addition to the school. In 1969, a dentistry clinic was built. The clinic provided a space for nursing Sisters to treat the sick. Several of the Sisters also worked in the local clinics. In 1977, Sister Mary O’ Sullivan started the Nutritional Centre to help children with malnutrition receive care. A focus was also placed on pregnant mothers, and the Sisters provided nutritional advice to ensure the health of their infants. The Nutritional Centre officially opened on August 22, 1978.
In 1976, an earthquake devastated Guatemala. Restoration programs commenced shortly after. The Sisters lent the football field of the school to be used for temporary housing for the 200 workers who had lost their homes during the disaster. The Sisters in Hamilton started “Operation Guatemala,” a charity effort to raise funds and send supplies to the devastated country.
Sister Aloysia Fischer was responsible for the organization and administration of the Christian Children’s Fund, which was an American program, from 1972 to 1976. She also administered the Guatemala Education Bursary (C.O.G.E.B.) in 1975. This bursary program was created by Bishop Reding of the Hamilton Diocese. He wanted to start a program like the Christian Children’s Fund but with Canadian and Diocesan roots. The program provided Teculután families with financial assistance to help with school costs. Participating children had to attend Colegio San José or the local school and mothers had to attend one hour of cooking, one hour of sewing, and one hour of nutrition classes per month. Sister Madeleine Graf later administered this program from 1977 to 1979.
The Sisters also were involved in bringing portable water and electricity to poor areas. The Sisters and priests brought running water to El Jute and Gúijo in 1978 and to the small village of Los Palmares in 1979.
The mission formally ended in November 1979 when the Sisters returned to Canada. That year, they relinquished control of the Colegio San José and the Nutritional Centre to the Capuchin Sisters of the Third Order. Although no longer directly involved in the mission, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton continued to send funds to Guatemala into the 2000s. Several Sisters went back to Guatemala celebrate various milestones. For instance, Sisters Madeleine Graf and Marie Garnier (Joan) McMahon returned to Teculután in 2005 for the 40th anniversary of the Colegio San José.
This series contains written histories and recollections including annals, correspondence, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, publications, donation lists, financial reports, legal documents, class lists, photographs, negatives, and meeting minutes.
Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada (Hamilton, Ont.)This series contains nine subseries containing material related to the administrative operations of the healthcare facilities founded, owned, and operated by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph Hamilton. The facilities concerned are St. Joseph’s Hospital, Brantford; St. Joseph’s Hospital, Guelph; St. Mary’s General Hospital, Kitchener; St. Joseph’s Community Health Centre, Stoney Creek; and St. Joseph’s Hospital and School of Nursing, Hamilton. The records included are timelines, annals and histories, newsletters, news clippings, meeting minutes, financial records, property records, legal documents, annual reports, renovation and construction reports, photographs, postcards, a yearbook, an art print, material related to the estate and donations of Rev. E. P. Slaven, correspondence, bills, by-laws, and some records of events of the various nursing schools operated in connection with the hospitals. There are also records relating to the transfer of hospital administration.
Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada (Hamilton, Ont.)These annals chronicle the daily lives of Sisters Ann Marshall, Katrina Rooney, and Nancy Sullivan while they performed charitable works in Annotto Bay, Jamaica. These records discuss their efforts in healthcare and education, including their donation to fix critical water problems in the Infirmary as well as setting up several educational programs to help children to learn and read. The annals also provide nuanced detail by describing the Sisters’ living quarters, thoughts about their works, and about the town itself. The sub-series also includes Katrina Rooney’s photographs. These images show Katrina Rooney teaching in school, posing with community members, and relaxing in her leisure time. These images offer a “snapshot” of life in Annotto Bay. A larger photo album along with a two folders of photographs also makes up this sub-series. The album’s images provide further examples of Annotto Bay life, and include photos of a trip to Jamaica made by Sisters Claudia and Francis Rossignoli. This sub-series also has records that detail the 2001 murder of Father Martin Royackers, who also lived and worked in Annotto Bay. He was a member of the Upper Canada Province of the Canadian Jesuits and had served Annotto Bay for six years. This news shocked and saddened the Congregation. They were upset to hear the news of the violent attack in a place they considered as a home. The Sisters set up a memorial liturgy in response to the news. The sub-series also includes several drawings from children to the Sisters.
Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada (Hamilton, Ont.)Series contains scrapbooks and photo albums, notes, cards, DVDs created and used by staff, meeting minutes, financial records from the Time Out program (1975-1980), program brochures, administrative records, annals from 1975-1990, newspaper articles about Medaille Retreat House, colour photographs, colour photograph negatives, and historical information about the retreat centre.
Medaille Retreat HouseThis series contains records related to the Ottawa, Ontario houses and ministries of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Pembroke diocese. The records contain annals, correspondence, photographs, and records related to renovations and property purchase such as invoices and a deed for the Wilbrod Street building. The annals are for Emmaus (Argyle Street) house, the Hull house, Laetare house, the Lebrun Street house, and the Wilbrod Street house. The Wilbrod Street house and the Lebrun Street house files contain a small number of photographs of the Sisters who lived at these houses as they took part in daily life, special events, and trips. Another file for Wilbrod Street contains a large number of photographs that were removed from an album, and depict the building, Sisters ministering in the community, and daily life. The series is interesting in that it shows experiments the Sisters undertook in community living and in vocation work.
Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada (Pembroke, Ont.)This series contains records related to the ministries in St. Philippe d’Argenteuil, Quebec, carried out by the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Pembroke diocese. The parish comprised about 550 families. The records contain annals, correspondence, photographs, a souvenir booklet, a newsclipping, and a few parish bulletins. The photographs depict the convent, Sister Constance Lacroix, one of two Sisters missioned there, and the church. The souvenir booklet celebrates the centennial of the arish in 1988. It is illustrated with photographs and is in French. The correspondence is in French and in English, and the primary correspondents are Sister Margaret Glofcheskie, the General Superior, Bishop Charles Valois, Sister Constance Lacroix, and two parish priests. The annals were kept by Sister Constance who arrived in the parish on August 31, 1985 to serve as the parish coordinator and a pastoral animator with the Laurentian School Board. The annals note interesting local events such as the feast of the cemetery held on the second Sunday in September during which people came to pray for the dead and to ensure the graves were decorated. As Sister Constance notes, “I felt that I could carry out what our first Sisters did in 1650, but I in 1986,” as she embarks on her ministry in the parish. She was to give guidance to parents for baptism, couples for marriage, and on burials. Sister Constance was joined in December 1986 by Sister Alice Meilleur.
Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada (Pembroke, Ont.)The fonds consists of essays, annals, a memoire, correspondence, memos, minutes, reports, financial papers, newspapers, newspaper clippings, photographs, drawings, floor plans, fact sheets, orientation booklets, bylaws, yearbooks, speeches, programmes, invitations, cards, newsletters, posters, flyers, press releases, membership roll, scrapbooks, and certificates.
St. Joseph's Hospital (Chatham, Ont.)This fonds contains records pertaining to the activities of the hospital and its associated administrators, staff, and organizations, including histories, annals, financial documents, governance records, photographs of people, the buildings and events, and news clippings.
St. Joseph's Hospital (Sarnia, Ont.)