This series contains the records of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London's Holy Rosary Convent, Windsor, and document their ministries while residing there. The records also cover their early ministry in Windsor at St. Joseph's Convent. Windsor is located on the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, which is an alliance between the Ojibwa, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of London first came to the area in 1884 when they were asked to assume the domestic responsibilities of Assumption College in Sandwich, Ontario, which they did for 20 years. In 1894 the Sisters were asked to take over teaching at the Roman Catholic Separate Schools in Walkerville, Ontario. The Sisters arrived on April 29, 1894, but construction of the school was still underway and so the Sisters began teaching in Our Lady of the Lake Church. In 1935, Windsor, Sandwich, Walkerville, and Ford City (which was eventually renamed East Windsor), united to form the City of Windsor.
The Sisters had several convents in Windsor: Our Lady of the Lake Convent on Drouillard Road (1894-1901), St. Joseph’s Convent at 267 Cadillac Street (1901-1953), St. Joseph’s Convent at 145 Cameron Avenue (1930-1945) and then at 377 Cameron Avenue (1945 -1959), St. Joseph’s Manor at 19 Sandwich Street East (1934-1969), St. Anne’s Convent at 1948 St. Mary’s Gate (1946-1961), Holy Rosary Convent (1953-2007), and St. Joseph’s House of Studies (1959-1974).
Holy Rosary Convent was established at 3975 Riverside Drive East in 1952. The house was built for Frank Henderson Joyce, an industrialist in the automotive industry. After the Sisters purchased the property, architect John Boyde was brought on to do renovations and construct a new wing. An iron fence from the House of Providence in London was installed around the property. The Sisters moved in on March 15, 1953. Their primary ministry in Windsor was education. The Sisters of St. Joseph of London had taught at and/or were principals at Roman Catholic Separate Schools across the city. Sisters also taught music and art in their convents until 1999 and would give weekly religious lessons at various parishes to children attending public schools. The Sisters also did home and hospital visits, pastoral care, counseling, parish ministry, massage therapy, supported and did outreach with the poor and the marginalized.
In 1998, the last teaching Sisters at Holy Rosary Convent retired. Holy Rosary Convent was put up for sale on May 17, 2006. The Windsor Heritage Committee launched a campaign to designate the building as a heritage site, which was unanimously approved by the city council and passed in By-law Number 142-2007. The property was sold to Academie Ste. Cecile International School, and it became Cecilia Retreat House. The closing ceremony for Holy Rosary Convent was held on March 25, 2007.
The records in the series include chronicles, historical summaries, correspondence, news clippings, pamphlets, newsletters, news clippings, programmes, booklets, invitations, photographs, certificates, reports, agendas, meeting minutes, financial reports, an offering memorandum, a timeline of sale, appraisal certificates, inventory of assets, news clippings, copies of the Ontario Heritage Act, and bookmarks.
