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

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

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Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Archives

The medical artifacts collection

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.

https://www.sjhc.london.on.ca/news-and-media/our-stories/passion-our-past

Nurses in training, 1905, St. Joseph's Hospital, London, Ontario
Nurses in training
St. Joseph's Training School and residence, London, Ontario
St. Joseph’s training school and residence, London, Ontario
Sister, doctors and nurses in operating room, St. Joseph's Hospital, London, Ontario
Sister, doctors, and nurses in operating room
St. Joseph's Hospital, London, Ontario 1915
St. Joseph’s Hospital, London, Ontario 1915
St. Joseph’s Hospital, London, Ontario

Our archives is award winning!

In 2017, our archives won the award for the Archives Association of Ontario Corporate Award. This award is given to organizations, corporations, or agencies of any kind that have been particularly supportive of archives and/or the archival community. Nominees may include:

  • Organizations that have provided significant support to the promotion of education, publishing, and/or other professional activities (including mounting of programs on behalf of the archival community, provision of expertise, or direct financial contribution).
  • Organizations that have provided significant support to the activities of a particular institution.
  • Organizations that have demonstrated imagination or creativity in the use of archives.

In 2021, Mary Grace Kosta, our Congregational Archivist won two awards:

The James J. Talman Award from the Archives Association of Ontario: this award is given to individuals who have demonstrated an outstanding level of imagination and innovation in contributing to the profession, their institution, or the archival community, or who have challenged conventional thinking about archival work.

For more information: https://aao-archivists.ca/resources/Documents/Membership/Awards/AAO%202021%20Awards%20Annoucement.pdf

The Sr. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award from the Society of American Archivists: this award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the field of religious archives. Selection criteria include:

  • Involvement and work in the Archivists of Religious Collections Section of the Society of American Archivists;
  • Contributions to archival literature that relates to religious archives;
  • Participation and leadership in religious archives organizations; and/or
  • Evidence of leadership in a specific religious archives.

For more information: https://www2.archivists.org/node/25429

We are proud to be an award winning archives!

American Catholic Historical Association

The American Catholic Historical Association features Hidden Catholic Collections on its website at https://achahistory.org/category/hidden-catholic-collections/. This is a wonderful way to become familiar with Catholic religious archives.

American Catholic Historical Association

The ACHA, in its own words, is “a conference of scholars, archivists, and teachers of Catholic studies. It is the place where the field of Catholic studies begins.” Its goals are to promote the history of the Catholic Church and advance historical scholarship.It’s interests lie in the history of the Church, including doctrine, spirituality, and missionary activity, and the history of its relations with civil society and interaction with the intellectual, cultural, social, and political life of the wider society.

The Hidden Catholic Collections series highlights many different religious archives, including the Selma, Alabama Collection in the Sisters of St. Joseph Archive in Rochester, NY, the Archives of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States-Canada Province in St. Louis, MO, and the Sisters of the Precious Blood Archives in Dayton, OH.

We are thrilled that our archives has been selected for inclusion in the Hidden Catholic Collections series. Please visit: https://achahistory.org/hidden-catholic-collections/

Catholic Research Resources Alliance

A wonderful site for those interested in the history of women religious can be found at www.catholicresearch.org. Here are some of the resources you will find at this website:

  • a description of the Catholic portal with a search box and introductory video https://www.catholicresearch.org/catholic-portal
  • the Catholic News Archive thecatholicnewsarchive.org
  • subject guides https://guides.catholicresearch.org/
  • bibliographies, directories and reports https://www.catholicresearch.org/bibliographies-directories-and-reports

Our consolidated archives can be found on this site as well! We encourage you to visit today, if you are interested in researching the history of women religious.

Archival Resources for Catholic Collections

We are pleased to support the Archival Resources for Catholic Collections (ARCC) organization. The ARCC is dedicated to ensuring the preservation of Roman Catholic archives for future generations. The membership is made up of archivists, religious leaders, and scholars. The ARCC provides support by giving professional advice on the care of archival collections, providing educational opportunities, and serving as a forum for sharing knowledge and resources.

Archival Resources for Catholic Collections

The ARCC has several working groups. The Repository Working Group recently initiated a Symposium Series, and the first webinar is available for view on the ARCC website. This webinar featured archivists from five different types of repositories providing guidance to archivists considering the future disposition of their archive when their communities near completion. The Repository Working Group is planning their second webinar on legal issues when considering seeking a new home for an archive. The Education Working Group is planning to also deliver a series of educational webinars, so make sure to join ARCC to keep on top of all these exciting opportunities.

The ARCC is committed to offering support, guidance, and training to all religious archivists.

Please visit https://archivalrcc.org/ to learn more.

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