The series contains records documenting the various activities of the London Donations Committee. These include charitable donations in Canada and abroad, educational bursaries given predominantly to community members in London and southwestern Ontario, as well as donor awards and recognitions received by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Records include administrative correspondence, annual reports, newsletters, press clippings, a magazine, photographs, certificates, and a plaque.

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.

This series contains records collected about, belonging to, and created by Sister Theresa Marie Caillouette. It includes photographs, a poem she recited when she became a postulant, her resume, biography, and educational certificates and awards for her work. Notable inclusions are a certificate of distinction on completion of the Management Education program offered by the Ontario Hospital Association in 2000 and an award in recognition of outstanding volunteer service to St. Joseph’s Hospital, Chatham in 1995. She was an avid participant of the Canadian Medaille Team and received funding from the French Embassy to study the history of the Congregation in France. In 1986 she was honored as a researcher by the Federation at the 150th Anniversary event at St. Louis, Missouri. A chronology of her research activities, a certificate from the 150th Anniversary, and addresses she made to the Federation for the period from 1967-1971 are included. There are newsletters and news clippings documenting her views and her work, including a 1974 newspaper profile for her parish work at St. Joseph’s Convent in Sarnia and a profile in a newsletter announcing her election as General Superior by the Diocese of London on April 13, 1987. Her views on the role of Sisters in parish ministry are set out in a paper she authored in 1987. The paper is based on her seven years of experience as assistant to the local priest and her membership on the Diocesan Commission on the role of women in the Church and in society. Her reflection on conversion, published in Canadian C.S.J. Bulletin in 1991 while she was serving as Vice-President of the Federation, is also included.
 

This series consists of material created by and collected about Mother Constance Dunn. This includes biographical research; a bound New Testament owned by Mother Constance Dunn; photographs of Mother Constance Dunn and her sister, Sister Norberta Dunn; correspondence concerning a new Motherhouse, the foundation of the hospital in Sarnia; jubilees; correspondence, some written in Latin, with the Bishop of London, John T. Kidd, and the Archbishop of Edmonton, J. H. MacDonald, concerning the canonical status of the Edmonton community (the canonical status, governance, and fiscal responsibility of the Edmonton community had been an ongoing issue since the Edmonton community had been founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of London in 1922); and letters from Bishop Dignan of Sault Ste. Marie to Mother Constance expressing his condolences on the deaths of several Sisters.

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.

This series contains records created and accumulated by the office of the General Treasurer for the Sisters of St. Joseph in London, Ontario. The records are primarily related to managing the donations given by and to the Sisters and the funding for their ministries, missions, Motherhouses, residences, and outreach projects. In London, St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre provided food security programs, Medaille Retreat House was a spiritual retreat centre for the Sisters, the Queens Avenue building was a home for women in need, and the Boulee Street house was a ministry to the poor. The Adult Spirituality Centre, St. Joseph’s Manor, the Foster Home on St. Rose Avenue, and Holy Rosary Convent were all in Windsor. St. Joseph’s Manor and the Foster Home were ministries to children in need and Holy Rosary Convent was the main convent for the Windsor Sisters. The Adult Spirituality Centre in Windsor provided spiritual direction and retreats. Another spiritual retreat, Marygrove, was in Aylmer. Outside of Ontario, there are records concerning the Photo History Project at Ataguttaaluk School in Igloolik, Nunavut in which Sister Mary Diesbourg participated, the Sisters at St. Joseph Regional House in Edmonton, Alberta, and the mission in Peru including the collaboration with Heart-Links, a London based charity focused on Peru.

The series includes reports, meeting agendas and minutes, mission statements, budgets, floorplans, funding proposals and requests, grant applications, forms, lists of Sisters involved with specific projects and sites, and correspondence concerning funding, donations, location changes, operations, and testimonials from the public supporting the Sisters’ projects. There are also resolution agreements from the Sisters’ projects. One agreement is with the sole shareholder of a company connected to a property owned by the London congregation, Marygrove, concerning the finances and leadership positions within the company. The other agreement is between the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and the Sisters of St. Joseph to decide the future of the Adult Spirituality Center.

One of the ways that Sisters could request funding for their ministries from the congregation was through the Apostolic Services Fund. Arrangements for the creation of this fund, outlines of requirements to qualify for funding and funding applications are included.

Not all the material is concerned with finances. Some records pertain to other projects the General Treasurer was involved with, particularly when Sister Loretta Manzara held the office. In 2007, the Sisters moved from Mount St. Joseph to a new LEED certified residence at 485 Windermere Road. in the series includes records related to this transition such as the Sisters’ Statement of Values, reports, pamphlets, news clippings, an issue of London Citylife, and newsletters (one of which was titled Crossing Over). There is also material concerned with the sale of Mount St. Joseph, the former Motherhouse.

At the 2012 Foundation Day, the Annals Project was presented. It focused on a shift from keeping annals to looking at the life of the entire congregation as expressed through Chapter reports. Pamphlets, agendas, meeting minutes, and a report on this project are present. Accompanying this material are annotated photocopies of various reports covering the Sisters’ activities from 1959 to 2011 which were referenced for the project.

Records related to the London Sisters’ involvement in Goderich, Ontario are also present, such as correspondence and pamphlets about their commitment to the area and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the first convent outside London.

The series also includes descriptions of icons painted by Sister Mary Anthony Hartleib, as well as prints of some of her artwork (including on the back of her funeral card), and photographs of artwork by Philip Aziz. Other photographs in the series are from the mission in Peru and of students and elders in the report for the Photo History Project at Ataguttaaluk School.

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.