Showing 211 results

This series contains records relevant to the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the diocese of London’s amalgamation with the Hamilton, Pembroke, and Peterborough congregations to become the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. The records are from before, during, and just after the amalgamation. While material concerns all four of the congregations and the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada, it was created by and primarily concerns the London Sisters.

The Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada was heavily involved in driving the amalgamation. In 1996 a video was shown to the London Sisters to bring awareness of the prospects of the religious communities and proposed uniting as one congregation. The London Sisters individually wrote reflections on this video. From 2007 to 2009 the Federation operated the Oneness Project which focused on interconnectedness and unity amongst the Sisters of St. Joseph and assessed four potential options of collaboration, one of which was amalgamation. This project resulted in newsletters, presentation slides, and the “Wisdom Gathering” report prepared by Sister Veronica O’Reilly. There is feedback from the London Sisters to the Oneness Project and the options presented at the 2009 Assembly.

Many of the records involved preparation for the amalgamation and the legal, organizational, and financial concerns related to the amalgamation. Other congregations of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States had undergone similar union of congregations. A booklet, timelines of their process, and minutes from meetings with these American Sisters were amassed by the Canadian Sisters in preparation for their own amalgamation.

Many committees and teams were formed and involved with preparing for and facilitating the transition, creating new goals and organizational structures for the amalgamated congregation, and communicating the process to the Sisters. Prayer pamphlets, minutes, and agendas from meetings as well as correspondence, newsletters, and reports from these teams and committees are present in this series. Those prominently featured are the Core and Local Futuring Teams, the Transitional Team, the Design Team, Chapter Planning Committee, Materials Resource Committee, Lay Advisory Committee, Website Committee, and the General Council. Select major topics include by-laws, insurance, finances, internal organizational structure, future planning, canonical and civil law requirements, and the creation of a website for the amalgamated congregation. There is also preparation for, and reports from, various Chapters and the Assembly where amalgamation and other options proposed by the Federation were discussed and voted on.

Another report included is “Evolving Design” which was created as part of the amalgamation process to outline the goals, governance, and process of the amalgamated congregation. There are several versions of this document from its creation process. It is based on the Sisters’ feedback on the congregation’s collective vocation and outlines the charism, the leadership structure, the role of the General Chapter, and contains a transitional constitution for the Sisters. It also outlines the duties of the Transitional Team.

There were many legal and financial issues which had to be addressed during the amalgamation. Forms, agreements, by-laws, acts, and correspondence with the Holy See, the Canadian government, solicitors, and Father Francis G. Morrisey about canonical and civil legal requirements for the amalgamation are present in this series. Some by-laws are internal and concern the operations and structures of the amalgamated congregation. Financial records, including budgets and arrangements for transfer of assets, for both the individual and amalgamated congregation are also included. There are also various iterations of guiding principles for the transition process and the amalgamated congregation.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of London had their final, binding vote on amalgamation at the Special Chapter in November of 2011 and there is an album of photographs documenting the event. The formal installation of leadership of the amalgamated congregation was held in 2013, and there is an invitation and brochure from the event. There are also correspondence and statements concerning press releases about the amalgamation.

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.

Sous-fonds consists of artwork created by Sister Marie Celine Janisse, including pencil sketches and originals and prints of watercolour paintings. There is also personal and professional correspondence, news clipping, poetry, journal entries, and reflections, written both during and after her missions in Peru and Nicaragua. There are photographs, the majority in albums, of Sister Marie Celine’s artwork and of the Sisters with whom she worked. There is also a journal kept by Sister Marie Celine during a trip to the Holy Land.

This series contains material created and used by Mother Angela and research on her conducted by others. The series has four subseries. In it is found biographical information collected about Mother Angela McKeogh as well as a small card gifted by her to Sister Mary in 1910. There is also a copy of Oliver Diston Company’s Wreath of Mary: companion to May Chimes, 1883 annotated by Mother Angela in 1902, and handwritten sheet music for various hymns. Also found are photographs of Mother Angela. Finally, there is material related to the Ontario legislation on teaching French and allegations made against Bishop Michael Francis Fallon by the French community which eventually led to Bishop Fallon bringing a defamation case before the Holy Rota in Rome. While there is photocopied correspondence, the majority of the material is secondary research.

This series contains records belonging to and created by Mother Margaret Coughlin. This series includes personal biographic material like Mother Margaret Coughlin’s notebook, Bartholomew Coughlin’s obituary, and Mother Margaret Coughlin’s educational certificates. This series also includes various correspondence regarding Mother Margaret Coughlin’s Feast Day, congratulations, expressions of gratitude, seasonal greetings, Mother Margaret Coughlin and Sister Placidia’s pilgrimage to Rome, the erection of the stations of the cross at Sacred Heart Convent (some of which is in Latin), and correspondence from Sisters in Le Puy and Lyon, France (some of which is in French). Included with the correspondence is a St. Joseph’s Alumni Bulletin and some pamphlets in French. There is also administrative correspondence with the Bishop of the Diocese of London, J. C. Cody, and a letter of thanks and congratulations from Rev. Durand. There are photographs of Mother Margaret Coughlin and a portrait of her father, Bartholomew Coughlin. There are also photographs, postcards, pamphlets, and news clippings from Mother Margaret Coughlin and Sister Placidia’s travels to Rome and France and scrapbook of the Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome and visits to Lyon and Le Puy on the occasion of the tercentenary of the Sisters of St. Joseph which has photographs, news clippings, and postcards pasted inside alongside a typed account. There is also material, primarily correspondence, concerning the “Ireland project” and a sermon on Ireland by Bishop J. C. Cody. The “Ireland project” was a recruitment endeavor to establish a Juniorate in Ireland from which young women could come and become novices in Canada where the Sisters would provide them with training in nursing or teaching.

This collection contains draft biographies of some of the General Superiors, final copies of biographies prepared by the archivist for all General Superiors from 1870-2007, and a script for a television play about the General Superiors called “Our Little Design – A Tribute to St. Joseph” in which Father Medaille, the founder of the congregation, interviews each General Superior from Mother Ignatia Campbell to Sister Katherine McKeough concerning her life.

This fonds consists of records primarily related to the history and administration of the St. Joseph Health Care Society in London. There are some additional materials related to its responsibilities to facilities in Chatham and Sarnia. The fonds contains correspondence, legal documents, minutes and reports.

The records in this series concern the involvement of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London in the field of education in Edmonton, Alberta. The records are primarily concerned with O’Leary High School, St. Nicholas High School, and the history of the Sisters’ involvement with education in Edmonton, Alberta. The material includes O’Leary High School yearbooks, photographs of O’Leary High School, news clippings, pamphlets, histories, and correspondence. The correspondence is about the establishment of the Edmonton Catholic School District Archives and the history of the Sisters who worked in education in Edmonton, Alberta.