The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Consolidated Archives

Rhiannon Allen-Roberts

Religious antagonism initiates community gem

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By Joe Keast

Although in the 21st century differences between different Christian denominations are mostly no longer a source of antagonism, these differences had a significant impact on the young town of Peterborough toward the end of the 19th century.

One systemic example of this antagonism was the provision of health care.  In the mid-1880’s the widow of a wealthy Peterborough businessman, Mrs. Charlotte Nichols, set aside $100,00 for the establishment a hospital in the young, growing town.  This important addition to the community was to be managed by a specifically chosen group of business and professional leaders – representatives of the various Protestant denominations, along with the mayor (unless he were not a Protestant).  The Nichols Hospital’s services were specifically and exclusively “for the benefit the Protestant population.”

As word of this development reached the attention of Bishop Joseph Thomas Dowling of the Diocese of Peterborough, he began making plans for a hospital whose vision would be more catholic. Bishop Dowling purchased a site across the river in Ashburnham Village – referred as St. Leonard’s Grove and hired local architect John Belcher to design the building.  In 1889 Bishop Dowling was transferred to the Hamilton diocese and was succeeded by Bishop Richard Alphonsus O’Connor.  With work on the hospital building proceeding, Bishop O’Connor approached the leaders of the Toronto Sisters of St. Joseph, who in previous years had established several hospitals in southern Ontario and Port Arthur and who had convents dedicated to Catholic education in the Peterborough diocese.  He asked the Sisters to agree, not only to staff the new hospital, but to allow the formation of a new Congregation for the Peterborough diocese comprising of the Toronto Sisters’ establishments in Cobourg, Port Arthur, and Fort William as well as staff for the Peterborough hospital and a school in Lindsay to be assumed from the Loretto Sisters to serve as a motherhouse for the new Congregation.

St. Joseph's Convent, Lindsay, Ontario
St. Joseph’s Convent, Lindsay, Ontario

With some trepidation, the Toronto Congregation generously agreed to this request. In August of 1890 the construction of the new hospital neared completion.  Under the direction of Mother M. de Pazzi, General Superior of the Toronto Congregation, those Sisters who could, gathered in the empty building to hold retreat and the election of the first leadership group. The retreat ended on August 15th with the election of Mother Austin Doran as the General Superior of the new congregation.  A few days later, on August 20, Bishop O’Connor presided over the dedication and official opening of the hospital. He proclaimed that “its doors will be open to the sick of all denominations, to Jew and Gentile, Catholic and Protestant.”

Mayor Stevenson was moved by this universal decree and agreed that the town would co-operate in retiring the remaining debt. The first Sisters to staff the new hospital were Mother Anselm (O’Connor), Sister Baptista (Keane), Sister Geraldine (Chidwick), and Sister Hilary (Irwin). The next year the Sisters expanded their ministry at the hospital by welcoming 40 people in need of care – the aged, blind, destitute, and orphans.  This group had been cared for by the Toronto Sisters, but it was felt that they would be better cared for in their hometown.  Eventually this led to the establishment of the House of Providence to care for the elderly and destitute on the hospital grounds, and St. Vincent’s Orphanage to care for children in town.

St. Joseph's Hospital, Peterborough, Ontario
St. Joseph’s Hospital, Peterborough, Ontario

Over the next century, St. Joseph’s Hospital served the citizens of Peterborough City and County with compassionate, professional medical care. During this time the hospital underwent a series of major additions and the level of medical care expanded to keep up with all the changes and improvements in medical care.  In the 1990’s, when the cost and complexity of providing medical care became onerous, the provincial government mandated the St. Joseph’s and Civic Hospital (the successor to the Nichols Hospital) be amalgamated to form the Peterborough Regional Health Center.

Thus, an endeavor which came to be because of religious antagonism blossomed, and when the time was right evolved into the modern medical facility that residents of Peterborough enjoy today.

Remembering Mother Martha von Bunning, 1824 – June 13, 1868

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Sr. Ann Marshall, csj

In recognition of the 170 years since the Hamilton foundation, I was asked to reflect on why Mother Martha is so significant to the Hamilton sisters. Her story is poignant and instructive, and its meaning is still unfolding. Her story as a Sister of St. Joseph reflects the pascal mystery of death and resurrection. Martha followed in the footsteps of Jesus who died an apparent failure.

We first heard Martha’s story following Vatican 11 when Rome directed all religious congregations to revisit their founding charism.  On hearing Martha’s story for the first time there was initial shock, surprise and a sense of embarrassment which gave way to anger/resentment.  Remember this was an era of awakening for women containing new truths and insights. We symbolized our support of Martha by the removal of a large picture of the first Bishop of Hamilton, Bishop Farrell, which had been hanging prominently in the Mother House and gifted it to the Chancery Office where it now hangs in the Diocesan library named after him. A more appropriate home for His Grace.

Mother Martha von Bunning
Mother Martha von Bunning

Martha was born in Germany, emigrated to the USA, and entered the Congregation in 1845 at the age of 21. She was missioned from St. Louis Missouri to Toronto and from there to Hamilton in 1852.   At 28 Martha was named the superior of the Hamilton community.  Martha understood that love is expressed in service of the dear neighbour and readily accepted the challenge of caring for the typhus and cholera victims of arriving immigrants but at a cost of the lives of the sisters.  Ten years into the foundation, in 1862, unjustly accused Martha was banished from the community by the Bishop. This resilient and humble woman made a second attempt at reconciliation in 1868 even though her health was failing but was again denied a meeting with the Bishop and made her way to Toronto, walking all the way. The archives are silent on this detail, however, she was warmly received by the Toronto community and died 9 days later.

I said earlier Martha’s story is instructive.  She was courageous in responding to unmet needs, resilient in the face of adversity, humble and forgiving in the dark night of unjust condemnation, and uncompromising in living the charism of unity and reconciliation. It seems to me that Martha’s short life reflects our own congregation’s Chapter Statement: Moving with Love and embracing each moment of possibility as a graced path to Transformation.   

The medical artifacts collection

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Since 2016, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Consolidated Archives has participated in the medical artifacts cataloguing project with St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ontario. As part of this project, 17 university students have acquired skills in museum registration, and many artifacts have been cleaned, labelled, photographed, and catalogued.

It’s been a fun project, as we’ve collaborated with the hospital staff, Noelle Tangredi, on two museum exhibits: one at the Provincial Legislature, and the other at Museum London. Noelle does a wonderful job of preparing medical artifact displays in the hospital exhibit space in Zone A, Level 1, off the main corridor closest to Richmond Street. We were so pleased that this space was officially opened by Sister Jane Marie Stock of our Congregation. Sister Jane Marie became the business manager and personnel director at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, serving in this role from 1955-1966. From 1966-1979, she was the Assistant Executive Director of Financial and General Services at St. Joseph’s Hospital, and served as Superior at the hospital from 1975-1976. She also served as a member of many committees and boards including St. Joseph’s Health Centre, London and St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation of London.

Our Congregation donated powder coated steel shelving for artifacts storage, and our Congregational Archivist obtained funding from the Catholic Archives Group for a museum database so that catalogue records of artifacts are easily searchable. She also developed a manual for use in cataloguing the collection. In exchange for our support, the hospital has repatriated archival records from the period during which the Sisters administered the hospital, for safekeeping and long-term preservation in our archives. To us, this project has been a model of collaboration and love for the history of the Sisters.

Because of the pandemic, the medical artifacts cataloguing project has been on hiatus. We look forward to the day we can return to continue this important work.

Please enjoy this article from St. Joseph’s Health Care about this collection of intriguing medical implements and devices, which were used during the period that the Sisters ran the hospital. St. Joseph’s Hospital was founded by the Sisters on October 15, 1888 and administered by them until it became St. Joseph’s Health Centre in 1993.

A Passion for Our Past – St. Joseph’s Health Care London

170 years of caring for the sick, elderly, and poor in the diocese of Hamilton

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On April 19, 1852, at the request of the Very Rev. E. Gordon, Vicar General of Hamilton and with the approval of Bishop de Charbonnel, the only Bishop in western Ontario at that time, three Sisters of St. Joseph came to Hamilton from Toronto. They opened their first convent on Cannon and McNab Streets. Here the Sisters ran a private elementary school and cared for orphans until 1857. In 1854, there was a cholera epidemic, followed by an outbreak of typhus. The Sisters were placed in charge of immigrants stricken with the disease and housed in railway sheds. On April 19, 1856, the congregation became independent from the Toronto congregation.

In 1861, the Sisters opened St. Joseph’s Hospital in Guelph in an old farmhouse. This was the sixth hospital in Ontario and the first opened in Canada by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Later, in 1862, a larger building was built and added on to in 1877. In 1888, because of a diphtheria epidemic, an isolation cottage, known as a “pest hut” was built behind the hospital. The original buildings were later used for the House of Providence which began operating in 1861 until 1959 when residents were moved to St. Joseph’s Home. In 1959, the Sisters unveiled St. Joseph’s Home in Guelph, and residents were moved from the House of Providence to the new building which contained a wing for the chronically ill. The programs and services were delivered in conjunction with St. Joseph’s Hospital. In 1984, the hospital and home amalgamated as St. Joseph’s Hospital and Home changing its name to St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph in 2001.

From 1861-1899, Sisters received nursing training by example only. In 1897, Sisters Martina Long and Leo Cass went to Mercy Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan to learn about their nursing program, and then, in 1899, founded the School of Nursing in Guelph. The first graduating class in 1902 consisted of seven Hamilton Sisters and two London Sisters, and the first lay student enrolled in 1904. In 1948, a new school of nursing was opened, and its last class graduated in 1974 when nursing schools in Ontario were taken over by community colleges.

In 1878, the Sisters took charge of St. Vincent De Paul Society home on Bay Street in Hamilton for the care of the poor.  After one year, the residents were transferred to the House of Providence which the Sisters opened in Dundas. This same year also saw the beginning of the House of Providence annual picnic on August 2. After a fire in 1900, it re-opened in 1902. Much later, in 1970, the Sisters opened the new St. Joseph’s Villa in Dundas, which replaced the House of Providence.

In 1890, the Sisters opened St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton. Throughout the early years, the Sisters held positions in all areas of the hospital and were aided by lay workers beginning at the turn of the century. The staff battled major diseases from whooping cough, diphtheria, smallpox, measles, and mumps. After a full day attending to the sick, the Sisters did the laundry, prepared food, did housework, and kept records. The quality of care was the same for all. Quite often, it went beyond medical care. One Sister used to take it upon herself to borrow flowers from those who had plenty and make up little bouquets for patients who had none. There is an anecdote concerning a young man who was returned to his room after chest surgery. Later that night, in a state of delirium, he ripped out the drainage tubes connected to his chest, jumped out of bed, and escaped from the hospital. In a pouring rainstorm, Sister Lioba O’Dwyer chased after him, eventually jumped in a passing taxi and caught the patient and brought him safely back to the hospital. A plan for a new St. Joseph’s Hospital was approved in 1944, and the new hospital opened in 1947, and occupied most of the block from Charlton Avenue to Mountain Boulevard. which was renamed St. Joseph’s Drive in 1958. In 1962, a new St. Joseph’s Hospital building officially opened, with grants from the federal and provincial governments, a $1 million commitment from the Sisters, and a capital grant from the City of Hamilton, along with donations from the public.

In 1911, the Sisters acquired the home of Adam Brown and used it as a nurses’ residence and training school. The first students Sister Gerard, and Ada Egan, enrolled that year. They were followed at intervals by seven more young ladies, with the first graduation of nine nurses from St. Joseph’s School of Nursing taking place in 1915. In 1899, Undermount, the John Young property on John Street South was purchased, and in 1922, a new residence for the nursing school was opened at this location. In 1947, the Woods estate on the corner of Mountain Boulevard and James Street was purchased and converted into additional residence accommodation and known as Marygrove. Another residence called Oakbank was also located on James Street. Later, in 1963, the Sisters opened St. Joseph’s School of Nursing, Fontbonne Hall (until 1972). Sisters served as directors of the school, nursing education teachers, and nursing administrators from 1911 to 1972. By 1950, 1,100 nurses had enrolled, and 790 had graduated. They served in the battlefields in both World Wars.

Sister Mary Grace Stevens served as hospital administrator from 1954-1960, and from 1963-1970. Those who remember her always describe her as a visionary and brilliant administrator. In the early 1960s, she met with the architect to discuss plans for the new Fontbonne nurses’ residence. When the architect suggested the Sisters could save money by not installing sinks in the nurses’ rooms, Sister Mary Grace pounded her fist on the table and declared, “…we are not going backward. We are going forward. We have had sinks in the nurses’ rooms since 1922!”

In 1923, the residence on Charlton Avenue East, formerly owned by Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Bisby, was purchased, and converted to a maternity hospital, known as Casa Maria. The department of obstetrics which had opened in 1912 was transferred here. The first of four sets of twins born here, the Shoope twins, made their appearance on March 25, 1925. Casa Maria was demolished in 1950 to make way for a new 100 bed maternity wing.

In 1916, the Sisters of Providence in Kingston purchased land with the intent of opening a hospital in Kitchener, but when they were unable to fulfill this goal, the Sisters of St. Joseph bought the land from them. In 1924, the Sisters established St. Mary’s Hospital followed by the opening of St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing, with its first graduates in 1927 (until 1972). In 1959, the hospital became known as St Mary’s General Hospital.

In 1955, the Sisters opened St. Joseph’s Hospital in Brantford (until 2001 when it became a long-term care facility). This was followed in 1957 by the opening of St. Joseph’s Training Centre for Registered Nursing Assistants in Brantford (until 1980).

In 1957, Sr. Cleophas Fischer was appointed Ontario’s first Hospital Press Officer.

Before 1950, the hospitals were owned and operated by the Sisters. In the early days, people could not always pay for health care and so payment sometimes took the form of produce! In 1959, the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan came into effect and provided insurance for Ontarians and payment for hospital treatment, which meant both that hospitals were now paid for the care they provided and more government involvement.

In 1964, Mother Alacoque Hayes began to bring hospital administrators together with the General Council of the congregation to discuss common issues. These quarterly meetings encouraged collaboration across the hospitals and homes run by the Sisters. In 1972, the first meeting of Board chairmen and chief executive officers with the Council was held to educate the Boards of their relationship to the Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1980, a Lay Advisory Committee started to provide business expertise to the Council. In 1981, Boards of Trustees, senior management, and Sisters in all the hospitals and homes were invited to a workshop to learn about the Sisters’ charism and begin a process of identifying their mission in healthcare. The Sisters in Hamilton were one of the first congregations to begin this process of mission education which is now considered vital to the ongoing life of Catholic hospitals and homes.

In the early 1940s and 1950s, advisory boards were started to help with fund raising and the construction of expanding facilities. These later became, in 1968, Boards of Trustees which took responsibility for the operation of each hospital and home. The first Board of Trustees was formed in 1968 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton, and in 1969 St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation was set up with a lay executive director. In 1988, it was decided to separately incorporate the hospitals and homes from the Motherhouse.

Mention must be made of the lay women who assisted the Sisters. At St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton, the hospital women’s auxiliary, which was started in 1945 by the Catholic Women’s League, held an annual tag day that helped reduce the building debt and helped build a new laundry. As well, the auxiliary raised funds through Valentine dances at the Royal Connaught, and membership teas at the nurses’ residence. The members of the auxiliary volunteered at the information desk during hospital visiting hours, visited patients with books, helped with sewing, supplied linens, furnished rooms, and helped purchase equipment.

Over the years, Sisters served in many roles in the hospital including as chief executive officers, nursing administrators, business administrators, medical record librarians, dietitians, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, in the accounting departments, in hospital chaplaincy, in pastoral care services, as occupational therapists, in palliative care, in therapeutic counselling, in laundry services, and as X-ray technicians.

Sources:

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Archives. Hamilton. Healthcare Box 3.

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Archives. Hamilton. Histories Box 1.

Diocese of Hamilton. (1943). The Sisters of St. Joseph Of The Diocese Of Hamilton.

St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph. The History of St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph, retrieved from St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph

Sisters of St. Joseph. (1950). 1890-1950. Sixty Years. History Of St. Joseph’s Hospital And School Of Nursing.

Caring for your Family Bible

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By Jennifer Robertson, Book and Paper Conservation Services

19th century family Bibles (photo credit: Book and Paper Conservation Services)

If you are lucky enough to have a family Bible that belonged to your ancestors, you probably treasure it very much. Family Bibles are often kept and passed down through generations, perhaps with precious memories attached of reading passages together, a special place in your relatives’ home, or even with written records inside. They can be important sources of genealogical information if a family tree was kept, as many 19th century Bibles included specially printed pages for recording births, marriages and deaths in the family. Whatever the significance they carry, it is important to keep the physical book safe from damage and deterioration, so that it can continue to be passed down to later generations.

There are three factors that should be considered when caring for your family Bible; Environment, Storage, and Handling. All have an impact on the condition of your Bible, and you can make adjustments in many ways to keep it in good condition.

Environment

A Bible, like any book or artifact, is affected by the environmental conditions in which it lives. This includes factors like temperature, relative humidity (RH) and light. High temperatures and humidity can cause damage to the paper, cloth or leather used to make the Bible. The higher the temperature, the more dry and brittle the paper and leather will become, and the more likely it is to crack. High humidity, and the change between high and low humidity that is natural as weather swings from summer to winter, causes expansion and contraction of materials, putting strain on weak areas like covers, spine and endpapers. This also makes them more likely to crack, break or peel. Light can damage materials with sensitive dyes or colourings, resulting in faded and discoloured leather, cloth or illustrations.

The ideal environment for a Bible is between 18-21°C and 45-55% RH. Too high a temperature and too low RH results in brittleness and cracking, but too high can cause the growth of mould. These mid-levels are just the right amount to keep paper, cloth and leather healthy and supple. To keep your Bible safe, avoid storing it in a damp basement or dry attic, or close to a radiator or hot air vent. If possible, run an air conditioner and dehumidifier in the summer or a humidifier in winter if your home is very dry.

A digital hygrometer with books behind it.
An inexpensive digital hygrometer can help you keep an eye on the temperature and humidity levels in your home (photo credit: Book and Paper Conservation Services)

Keep your Bible out of direct light to prevent fading of materials. Direct sunlight falling on a bookshelf or high ambient light in a room with many windows can do damage after only a few months. A darker, interior room is best, or else keep the Bible in a drawer or storage box when not in use.

Storage

Careful storage can help preserve your Bible by keeping it safe from light, dirt and pests. Dust or soot from a fireplace, cigarette smoke or air pollution can soil or discolour your Bible, and frequent cleaning to remove these can also cause damage. If the Bible is kept in a seldom-used drawer or box with other items, it may also be tempting to pests such as silverfish, who like to eat the starch-based materials in paper and glue. A clean, dry, protected storage location goes a long way towards preserving a Bible or any special artifact.

An archival storage box or a clean, dedicated drawer or cupboard can offer safety for a Bible, protecting it from light and dirt, as long as some precautions are taken. If the Bible is large and heavy, it is a good idea to store it laying flat, on the back cover; if it is smaller, it can be stored standing vertically on a shelf, as long as it is supported on either side by other books of a similar size.

If you choose to store it in a drawer or cupboard, make sure the space is clean and dry, and line it with acid-free tissue or mylar to prevent transfer of acidity from wood or cardboard. Make sure there are no other objects close to the Bible that might cause damage when shuffled or jostled around. Wrapping it in acid-free tissue can also help to keep it clean and safe within the storage area.

An archival box is an ideal storage solution for a Bible. These come in different sizes, and are available from Library and Archives suppliers like Carr McLean or Brodart in Canada. They are made of special cardboard material that is acid-free and won’t cause damage to books. Again, wrapping it in acid-free or buffered tissue within the box is a good idea, especially if the box is slightly larger than the book. A snug fit is best, so the book won’t slide around if it is being moved. If you want to protect it more elegantly, you can commission a custom clamshell box to fit your book exactly, and have the box decorated and labelled in any way you wish.

Family Bible in custom clamshell storage box (photo credit: Book and Paper Conservation Services)

Handling and Use

Improper handling and use can cause a lot of damage to a delicate family Bible. Tears and breaks in the paper, detached covers, stains and spots all result from handling without proper precautions.

If you are going to take your Bible out to read or view, first make sure you have a clean, dry space to set it out and open it. Clear a table of other objects, and especially make sure there is no food or drink close by that could spill. Wash your hands with unscented soap and dry them thoroughly. Contrary to popular believe, clean dry hands are much better than white gloves for handling delicate books, as long as you are careful. Wearing gloves can dull your dexterity, and the cloth can catch on delicate pages causing them to break. The light oils on your hands can also help to keep the leather supple on the covers of a Bible.

If you are lifting it out of a box, go slowly and use both hands. If you are taking it off a bookshelf, be careful to grasp the book using your fingers and thumb on front and back covers, with your hand across the spine; never pull the book back with your finger hooked over the top and pulling on the spine, as this is likely to rip the endcap off and damage the binding.

Person removing book from shelf with hand across spine.
The proper way to remove a book from a shelf, with hand across the spine, not pulling from the top (photo credit: Book and Paper Conservation Services)

When paging through the book, set it on the table and support the cover as you hold it open, either with one hand or a book cradle or support. This will help keep the book open no further than a 90° angle, and avoid cracking the spine. Try to avoid opening the pages all the way to 180°, or letting the cover bend back even further.

Be sure to use a pencil and acid-free paper to make notes, or to leave a marker in the pages. Never leave a post-it note, newsprint or other scrap of unidentified paper within the Bible, as they can transfer colour or acidity to the pages, causing discolouration. It should also be said, never use paper clips, staples, rubber bands or other objects to mark a page!

Open book with newsclipping and acid burn on pages.
Acid burn from newspaper clipping (photo credit: Book and Paper Conservation Services)

If you want to consult a specific page frequently, say to show the genealogical entries to family or friends, you might consider taking a high quality photograph and printing out the image, so that you can pass around a facsimile rather than putting strain on the original material. The more frequently the book is opened the more likely the binding will suffer irreversible damage, and if you are simply referencing the information you don’t need to view the original page. However, avoid the use of a flat-bed scanner to reproduce a page in the Bible, as manipulating the book to lie open on a scanner bed is a risk to the binding. A digital photograph printed out is just as good, and can sometimes be enhanced to show text more legibly than the original.

In the past, collectors recommended applying oil-based leather dressing to bookbindings to keep the leather supple and soft; however, book conservators now advise against this, as excessive or inappropriate treatment can easily cause the opposite effect on leather. Keeping books clean and dry and away from extremes of humidity and temperature is a much safer way to preserve their bindings. If you have questions about repairs or rebinding options for your Bible, consult a professional conservator, bookbinder or archivist for more detailed information.

Following these guidelines will help preserve your family Bible for many years to come!

Resources

Resources:

Book and Paper Conservation Services – Conservation and repair, clamshell boxes etc.

Canadian Conservation Institute: Basic Care of Books

Library of Congress: Care, Handling, and Storage of Books

Brodart – Supplier of Library and Archives materials, such as archival storage  boxes, acid-free tissue, book supports, etc.

Carr McLean – Supplier of Library and Archives materials, such as archival storage  boxes, acid-free tissue, book supports, etc.