Series F01-S123 - Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse series

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Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse series

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  • Multiple media

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  • Source of title proper: Title is based on the contents of the series.

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Reference code

CA ON00279 F01-S123

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Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1912-2008 (Creation)
    Creator
    Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada (London, Ont.)

Physical description area

Physical description

103 cm of textual records
4.5 cm of textual records (10 volumes)
2 cm scrapbook ; 28 x 22 cm
1 cm scrapbook ; 28 x 22 cm
5 guest books ; 17.5 x 21 cm
622 photographs : col.
101 photographs : b&w
1 CD-ROM (6 photographs (jpeg) : col. ; 877 KB)
1 optical disc (64 photographs (jpeg) : col. ; 9.39 MB)
1 CD-ROM (25 photographs (jpeg) : col. ; 19.5 MB)
2 audio cassettes (90 minutes each ; type 1 normal magnetic coating)
18 photographs: col. negatives
4 photographs : b&w negatives
16 post cards
2 photographs : col. slides
1 album (85 photographs : col.)
14 postcards
1 architectural drawing : ink on tracing paper ; 35.5 x 53 cm

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Name of creator

(1868-2012)

Administrative history

The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London, in Ontario was first incorporated on February 15, 1891 under chapter 92 of the Statutes of Ontario, 1870-1.

On December 11, 1868, at the request of Bishop John Walsh, five Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto arrived in London, Ontario. Mother Teresa Brennan, Sister Ignatia Campbell, Sister Ursula McGuire, Sister Francis O’Malley and Sister Appolonia Nolan were accompanied by Reverend Mother Antoinette McDonald and were welcomed by Bishop Walsh, Rev. J.M. Bruyere, V.G., and Rev. P. Egan, pastor of St. Peter’s Church. Awaiting the Sisters were sleighs that transported them from the train station to a temporary home at 170 Kent Street.

In accordance with their mission in London, three Sisters began teaching at St. Peter’s School in January, 1869. After classes, they visited the sick, the poor and the imprisoned. They were also mandated to open an orphanage in the future. In order to accomplish these tasks, more Sisters and larger facilities were necessary.

On October 2, 1869, the Barker House at the corner of Richmond and College Street in North London was purchased and the Sisters moved there from Kent Street. The building was named Mount Hope, and it became the first Motherhouse of the Sisters, eventually housing the elderly, orphans, Sisters and novices.

On December 18, 1870, the Sisters of St. Joseph became an autonomous congregation in the London diocese, independent of the Toronto congregation. Sister Ignatia Campbell was appointed Superior General, an office she held until 1902. On February 15, 1871, the congregation became legally incorporated.

On October 7, 1877, an addition was made to Mount Hope. This building stood until it was demolished on August 3, 1980, surrounded by the growing healthcare institutions founded by the Sisters, beginning with St. Joseph’s Hospital which opened at 268 Grosvenor Street on October 15, 1888, and followed by the opening of St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1895, and the construction of a new nursing school building in 1927, which saw its last graduation in 1977. On May 1, 1951, St. Mary’s Hospital was opened, followed by Marian Villa on January 12, 1966. In 1985, the hospital complex was renamed St. Joseph’s Health Centre, and ownership was transferred in 1993 to St. Joseph’s Health Care Society.

But it was not only in London that Sisters saw the need for healthcare and nursing education. On October 15, 1890, they opened St. Joseph’s Hospital on Centre Street in Chatham, Ontario, which remained under their control until 1993. In 1895, they opened St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing, which saw its last graduation in 1970. On October 18, 1946, they opened St. Jospeh’s Hospital at 290 North Russell Street in Sarnia which remained under their control until 1993. In Alberta, they administered St. Joseph’s Hospital in Stettler (1926), St. Joseph’s Hospital in Galahad (1927), the General Hospital in Killam (1930), and St. Paul’s Hospital in Rimbey (1932).

On April 10, 1899, the Sisters opened Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse, Novitiate and Orphanage at the former Hellmuth College at 1486 Richmond Street North in London. The orphans were moved to this new location from Mount Hope, which remained a home for the elderly and was renamed House of Providence on June 3, 1899. The orphanage remained at Mount St. Joseph until it was moved to Fontbonne Hall in 1953 (to 1967). The original Hellmuth College building was demolished in 1976.

Later, on September 14, 1914, the Motherhouse and Novitiate moved to Sacred Heart Convent at Colborne and Dundas Streets in London, with the orphans remaining at Mount St. Joseph. The Sisters lived at Sacred Heart Convent until 1953, when they moved back to the newly built Mount St. Joseph, on the original location of the former Hellmuth College. The new Motherhouse and Novitiate was officially opened on June 29, 1954. It was here that they continued a private girls’ school which had begun in 1950 at Sacred Heart Convent, and was now known as Mount St. Joseph Academy (to 1985). It was here too that they continued a music school which had also begun at Sacred Heart Convent and was now called St. Joseph’s School of Music (to 1982). The Médaille Retreat Centre began here in 1992, and the Sisters also administered a Guest Wing for relatives of hospitalized patients (to 2005). The Sisters departed Mount St. Joseph for their new residence, a green building at 485 Windermere Road in London, in 2007.

On September 4, 1873, St. Joseph’s Convent opened at 131 North Street in Goderich, Ontario, followed by other convents in Ontario, including Ingersoll (1879), St. Thomas (1879), Belle River (1889), Windsor (1894), Sarnia (1906), Kingsbridge (1911), Seaforth (1913), St. Mary’s (1913), Woodstock (1913), Kinkora (1916), Paincourt (1923), Maidstone (1930), Leamington (1932), Delhi (1938), Tillsonburg (1938), Simcoe (1938), Langton (1939), West Lorne (1957), and Zurich (1963)

The Sisters also opened missions in other parts of Canada, including in Alberta: Edmonton (1922), Wetaskiwin (1929), St. Bride’s (1934); and in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Yellowknife (1953), and in British Columbia in Haney, now Maple Ridge (1956), and Rutland (1970). Branching even further afield, Convento San Jose was opened in Chiclayo, Peru in 1962.

Over the years, as well as their service as teachers in the separate school system, as music teachers, as healthcare workers, as nursing educators, in providing care to orphans, and in providing parish ministry, pastoral care, and administering spiritual retreats, the Sisters were also involved in social service ministry. In Windsor, they opened the Roy J. Bondy Centre on September 13, 1970 which was a receiving home for the Children’s Aid Society, withdrawing in 1982 but continuing to provide residential care for disabled children afterward. In London, they opened Internos, a residence for teenage girls attending school and later for troubled teens (to 1979). This was followed by the opening of St. Joseph’s Detoxification Centre on September 13, 1973 (to 2005) and St. Stephen’s House, an alcoholic recovery centre on February 1, 1982 (to 2000). Loughlin House in London opened as a residence for ex-psychiatric female patients in 1986 (to 1989), followed by the Home for Women in Need at 534 Queens Avenue in 1979 (to 2004). Later, St. Josephs’ House for Refugees was opened in 1987 (to 2005), followed by St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre, a food security program, on February 2, 1983.

On November 22, 2012, the congregation amalgamated with those in Hamilton, Peterborough, and Pembroke into one charitable corporation under the name Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Act, a Private Act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario which received Royal Assent on June 13, 2013.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The series contains correspondence, newsletters, photographs, scrapbooks, postcards, diagrams, clippings, bulletins, brochures, programs, song sheets, posters, publications, dramatic scripts, and reports. This material is related to the history of the third Mother House of the Sisters of St. Joseph in London, which was called Mount St. Joseph. There is information about the construction of the building and detailed information about its special features and decoration, including the Immaculate Conception Chapel, and its grounds, particularly the Grotto. The records also relate to planning the construction of, and move to, the Sisters’ residence in 2007, and the sale of the Mount St. Joseph building and property. There are records which reflect communal life in the convent, including the various organized groups, events, and dramatic and musical entertainment, and menus, meal planning, and recipes. The series contains records related to men religious who served at the Mother House, and other Diocesan correspondence. Information about both Fatima Hall and Ignatia Hall can be found, including the various uses of space in these buildings.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

The records were transferred by the Congregation to the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada archives - London site.

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

    Location of originals

    The records are located at The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Archives.

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    Restrictions on access

    The Archives reserves the right to restrict access to the collection depending on the condition of the archival material, the amount of material requested, and the purpose of the research. The use of certain materials may also be restricted for reasons of privacy or sensitivity, or under a donor agreement. Access restrictions will be applied equally to all researchers and reviewed periodically. No researcher will be given access to any materials that contain a personal information bank such as donor agreements or personnel records, or to other proprietary information such as appraisals, insurance valuations, or condition reports.

    Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

    Permission to study archival records does not extend to publication or display rights. The researcher must request this permission in writing from the Archives.

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    There is a series and file list.

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    No further accruals are expected.

    General note

    The third Mother House for the Sisters of St. Joseph in London was in the former Hellmuth Ladies’ College, built by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth. This ladies’ college had 140 pupils with 100 of them boarders, including Charlotte Johnson, sister of poet Pauline Johnson. It was formally opened on Sept. 23, 1869 by HRH Prince Arthur, third son of Queen Victoria who became 10th Governor General of Canada. Hellmuth Ladies’ College stood like a stately home of England in a park with the city in the distance and country all around. There were Venetian glass doors, chandeliers, polished floors, wide corridors and a broad staircase. Ann Mills was the first principal of Hellmuth College from 1869-1872, and a chapel built in 1877 named St. Anne’s chapel in her honor stood on a summit to the left of the driveway.

    Sadly, Hellmuth Ladies’ College went bankrupt and the Sisters purchased the property on June 10, 1899, opening their residence, novitiate and orphanage and renaming it Mount St. Joseph The formal opening took place on April 29, 1900. A procession several miles long including school children, clergy and church members made their way to the grounds from the Bishop’s palace and church for this grand occasion. Mount St. Joseph was both a convent and home for school-aged orphans until the Sisters moved to Sacred Heart Convent in 1914. After this, the building was used solely as an orphanage, with infants and pre-school children also cared for. The orphanage eventually stopped taking infants who were moved to St. Joseph’s Hospital Children’s Dept. Orphan children over two years of age were moved to Fontbonne Hall on Queens Avenue in 1953, and in 1967 Madame Vanier Services took over the care of the children. St. Anne’s chapel was torn down in 1925, and its bricks used to make repairs on the main building after a fire in 1925. A new chapel, also named St. Anne’s chapel, was built by the Sisters in 1909 and later demolished in 1976.

    The need for a new Mother House for the Sisters living at Sacred Heart Convent was apparent by 1940, when a building committee was formed, presided over by Reverend Mother Constance Dunn. Eventually, a new building was designed and planned by Reverend Mother Margaret Coughlin. The sod turning took place on October 15, 1950, and construction began on October 21, 1951, with the building of a new chapel, Immaculate Conception chapel, beginning on January 3, 1953. The professed sisters moved to the old Hellmuth Ladies’ College building from Sacred Heart Convent on September 23, 1953, and the Generalate and Novitiate moved to the completed wings of the new building on November 3, 1953. The formal opening was on June 20, 1954, attended by Bishop John C. Cody and 5,000 members of the public. The new Mother House was also named Mount St. Joseph.

    Mount St. Joseph overlooks the Thames River. It is constructed of limestone with wood-trim in a grey-green shade. The central tower with its simple cross can be seen for miles, and extending from this tower are the wings of the building. It took two years and eight months to build. The architects were Watt and Tillman of London, and the General Contractor was Anglin-Norcross Ontario Ltd. The marble for the Immaculate Conception Chapel was supplied by T. Carli-Petrucci Ltd. Of Montreal, the woodwork by Globe Furniture Co. of Waterloo, and the marble and terrazzo in the main entrance on first floor main corridors by V. D’Ambrosio & Co. Ltd., Toronto.

    The building had reception parlours with crystal chandeliers from the old Mount St. Joseph (Hellmuth Ladies’ College) building, a library, a reception hall with marble pillars, floor and walls. The mosaic ceiling of the chapel was designed by Count Alexander Svobodo, a member of the Conn Arts Studio in Toronto. The floor, walls and columns are of marble, as is the altar which is a solid piece of green St. Denis marble weighing 4,600 pounds. The kneelers and statues are also of marble. The stained-glass windows in the nave and sanctuary were made in Florence Italy and designed by Rodolfo Fanfani of the firm Guido Polloni. The organ is a Casavant two-manual organ, first installed at Sacred Heart Convent. It was rebuilt and slightly enlarged upon installation in the new chapel in 1953.

    The grounds, landscaped by Gordon Culham, contain many beautiful trees and shrubs and a rose garden, as well as a playing field and four tennis courts. The grotto on the south end of the grounds is a replica of the grotto at Lourdes. It was built in 1954 by parishioners of Kingsbridge led by their pastor, Fr Henri Van Vynckt. It has a reproduction of the statue of Our Lady based on the original at Lourdes, and a statue of the kneeling figure of St. Bernadette. It contains stones from each of grottoes of the world in its stonework (Lourdes, Fatima, La Salette). Separated from the grotto by a small bridge, was Medaille House which opened in 1969, and was used for retreats.

    The former Mount St. Joseph (Hellmuth Ladies’ College) building served several purposes after the orphanage was moved. A Kindergarten and pre-kindergarten ran from 1954 to 1975 for ages 4-6 years in the basement of its chapel for children who lived outside London. The building was renamed Fatima Hall High School and Aspirancy in 1957. This initiative was started by Mother Margaret Coughlin in London and at Edmonton Regional House. The Aspirancy provided spiritual and academic education for girls interested in religious life in grades 9-12 - ran from 1957 to 1967. The building also housed laundry and maintenance facilities.

    In 1955, the second, third and fourth floors were added to the Novitiate wing. From 1958 to 1959, a new Academy wing and the east wing of the Juniorate were added. In 1961, there were fourth floor additions to the southeast and northeast wings. In 1968, Ignatia Hall wing was opened as an infirmary and residence for the senior sisters. It also housed Generalate offices and the Medaille Program Centre, which was located on the ground floor.

    A music school had started at Sacred Heart Convent in the early 1920s. With the move to the new Mount St. Joseph, this music school fell under the principalship of Sr. Callistus Arnsby, and was renamed St. Joseph’s School of Music. Three music studios were set up in the old Mount St. Joseph (Hellmuth Ladies’ College) building and later moved to the new building. The music school taught to the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music exam requirements and gave piano, violin, singing and music theory lessons. It amalgamated with the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music on the university campus in 1982.

    The girls’ school which had been at Sacred Heart Convent moved to Mount St. Joseph in 1953, and to its own new wing in 1958. The school was both a boarding and day school. Known as Mount St. Joseph Academy, it provided education to over 3,000 young women until it closed in 1985.

    In 1975, patients and their relatives from the transplant program at University Hospital were given accommodation at Mount St. Joseph. After the Academy closed, the third and fourth floor of its wing became known as the Guest Wing, accommodating up to 75 guests who could take meals in the Sisters’ dining room. The wing also was used for St. Joseph’s Health Care Centre. The Guest Wing program closed in 2005.

    On April 20 1976, the old Mount St. Joseph (Hellmuth Ladies’ College) building demolition began. Ellis Don Construction completed work on a new laundry, maintenance facilities and pool on Feb. 22, 1977. The pool was used by the Ursulines, Seminarians, Sisters, Academy students, and patients from St. Mary’s Hospital.

    On December 8, 2005, the property was sold to Ivest Properties and London Property Corporation and leased to Retirement Residences Real Estate Trust (REIT).

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    Status

    Revised

    Level of detail

    Partial

    Dates of creation, revision and deletion

    July 2, 2020
    March 6, 2023
    May 22, 2023

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