Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the
Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada - Pembroke Site
Written by Mary McGuire, csj
During the next 11 months, we would like to share the amazing story of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada -Pembroke Site as we celebrate 100 years of our service and witness in the Diocese of Pembroke and beyond. As we tell our story we would like to express our gratitude, love, and prayers to so many of you who have been with us on this journey. Our Congregation is witness to the love and support you have bestowed on our community and we will be forever grateful for these gifts. We would like to say a heartfelt thank you and invite you to read our story in the months ahead as a way of celebrating this important milestone with us.
The Sisters of St. Joseph from Pembroke were canonically born August 25, 1921 in the village of Douglas, Ontario. Just a mere three weeks after this birth our Congregation moved quickly to a fully operational farm known as the O’Kelly Farm. It was comprised of 147 acres located on the shores of the Ottawa River in the Town of Pembroke. (Photos here)
Bishop Thomas Ryan had paid $16,000.00 for the property and had coordinated all of the needed renovations and expenses to house the Sisters of St. Joseph at this location. Residents in the area had always referred to this portion of the river as ‘the lake’, so when it came time to rename the property, Bishop Ryan named it ‘’St. Joseph’s-on-the-Lake”. Forty acres were under cultivation at the time but the house on the property was an ancient structure, too small for a Motherhouse. By September 14, 1921 four Sisters had moved into the renovated farmhouse on this site. Within a week, twelve postulants were received. In the years to follow, many more Sisters would join the Congregation at the Pembroke site. In 1953, construction began on the large Motherhouse that was located at 1127 Pembroke Street West (part of the initial 147 acres). The local Congregation’s community membership numbered 215 at its highest peak in the 1960s.
This original farm was fully functional with horses, cattle, hens, and pigs. The novices and postulants were very much involved in its day-to-day activities while the professed Sisters were teaching within the local community. Gathering the eggs, plucking the chickens, milking the cows, churning the butter, washing the milk and cream separator, and weeding the gardens were regular duties. What a challenge for those young Sisters who had never lived on a farm! One Sister recalled laundry days – using a hand-turning object inside tubs to clean the laundry, and then the irons were heated on a wood stove. This same Sister recalled the ‘roothouse’ and retreating to it to enjoy the coolness and singing amongst the vegetables. She continued this ministry of music and song for the Congregation with her beautiful voice throughout her life with the Sisters of St. Joseph.
For many of these Sisters, the Pembroke Motherhouse was their first home away from home. After a discernment process of prayer, they felt called to dedicate their lives to God as religious Sisters.
One of the many stories that have been passed down is about a Sister from England who was sent out by the cook to gather the eggs from the hen house. After what must have seemed a disproportionate amount of time, the Sister returned empty-handed. When asked to explain, she said that she had knocked repeatedly on the hen house and that no one was answering!
Bishop Ryan, who presided over the destiny of the Pembroke Diocese from 1916-1937, had a dream that every child in the Diocese would have access to a Catholic education, no matter how small and remote the area might be. Consequently, many Sisters were dispatched daily to Catholic schools in the area. These schools were located in Pembroke, Petawawa, Deep River, Renfrew, Barry’s Bay, Douglas, and small Quebec locations, to name a few, providing a vital service and access to a valuable religious education. Many Sisters had long and full teaching careers in Renfrew County. A later article will fully cover the many places that our Sisters taught.
Alongside the teaching profession, our Sisters provided nursing, counseling, administration, and various other ministries within our community and beyond.
The previous Motherhouse in Pembroke
Unlike other apostolates, the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada/Pembroke Site chose not to own large institutions outside of the Motherhouse. Upon completion of our ministries and having prepared lay people to carry on the duties, we simply relinquished the small institutions we did own, namely Radville Hospital and Marion Home in the province of Saskatchewan, likewise Barrhead Hospital in the province of Alberta. The St. Joseph’s Academy in Renfrew was left to the Pembroke Diocese. We administered and operated Santa Maria Home in Regina, St. Francis Memorial Hospital in Barry’s Bay, and St. Joseph’s Manor in Campbell’s Bay, Quebec. We also divested our duties at these institutions to the lay community.
From the days of a full Motherhouse, there currently remain 26 Sisters, including two Peruvian Sisters. We are also proud to have 48 active Associates divided into 8 faith communities in Canada. There are also 15 active Associates in Peru and 23 non-active Associates who form a group called ‘The Supporters in Spirit and Prayer.’
As our story unfolds you will appreciate that even from our humble beginnings and our small but mighty numbers, by the grace of God we were able to do extraordinary things and display incredible resilience. Our preferential option for the education, health care, and spiritual needs of rural communities as well as for the needs of the poor, the orphans, the youth-at-risk, the frail and the elderly, led us to take on ministries in many localities, a total of 45 locations in Canada and abroad.
(with files from Nicole Aubé, csj - S.A.I.L. 2011)
Stay tuned as our story unfolds in 2021.