Sous-série 08 - Perugrams

• Document textuel

2 cm of textual records

This series contains Perugrams, a neologism for ‘chapters from the diary,’ a newsletter with a Spring and Fall issue from 1963 to 1988, produced by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario during their mission in northern Perú. The newsletters were mostly written by the Sisters residing at the Hacienda Cayalti, in the Chiclayo province, and often began with an address to “Dear Sisters, Relatives, and Friends.”

Subjects covered in the newsletters include, but are not limited to, the activities and events in the parish of the Zaña Valley, such as health, education, and cultural development projects, reflections on the local rural Peruvian people and their social conditions, and the Sisters’ experiences of living and working in Perú. Some notable topics include the 25th anniversary of the Perú mission; extreme inequalities in food, shelter and medical attention; the aftereffects of natural disasters; cricket and dragonfly swarms; seasonal weather; updates on church renovations and construction projects; assembling straw mat huts to house 75 children, building of walls and planting greenery at schools; teaching; sacramental preparations; summer beach camp youth programs; local house visits to people living in bare dirt floor houses with no windows, and no indoor plumbing; successful surgeries on children; celebrations; attending Congress Meetings of Religious Sisters; trips to Cusco and Machu Picchu, and interactions and collaborations with the Ursuline Sisters and the Sisters of Mercy.

Of special note is the issue from February 22, 1966, that includes a clipping from the Evening Telegram of St. John’s, in Newfoundland, titled “Priest, Nun Die in Peru – Father Conroy and Sister Mary Aquin killed and five other Sisters injured in accident,” that reports a fatal motor vehicle accident on the Pan American Highway. A station wagon driven by Father Charles O’Neill Conroy carrying six passengers collided with a truck at 3:00 pm, as they were returning home from Trujillo to Monsefú. In December 1960, Father Conroy of St. John’s, in Newfoundland, settled into and founded the parish of Mosefú.