A Public Symposium on the History of Irish Roman

Catholicism in Newfoundland

To Celebrate the 150th Anniversaryof the Consecration of the

Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist8-10 September 2005

The Lantern, St. John’s

Sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s and the

Canadian Catholic Historical Association

Researching the History of Women Religious in Atlantic Canada: Promising Practices and

Contemporary Challenges

Presentation prepared for

A Place to Worship for His People’s Creed:A Public Symposium on the History of Irish

Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland

8-10 September 2005 St. John's, Newfoundland

Dr. Elizabeth M. SmythOISE/UT

University of Toronto

The most pressing need is for serious historical research to be done on Irish women, in the homeland and the diaspora … especially for the “religious”: that is girls and women in Roman Catholic religious communities.

D. Akenson The Irish Diaspora: A Primer (Toronto: Meany, 1993)

Outline of Presentation

Women Religious in Atlantic Canada: A Profile

Promising Research Practices

Contemporary Research Challenges

Distribution of Women ReligiousArch/Diocese #Congregations #Members

Antigonish 05 319

Bathurst 11 196

Charlottetown 03 132

Edmunston 07 119

Grand Falls 02 27

Halifax 07 209

Labrador City – Schefferville

07 23

Moncton 07 296

St George’s 06 29

St John 06 130

St John’s 02 216

Yarmouth 05 16

34 represented 1712

CONGREGATIONS •Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur

•Our Lady Immaculate

•Petites Soeurs de la Sainte-Famille

•Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

•Sainte-Anne

•Sacred Heart

•Saint Joseph

•Saint Martha of Antigonish

•Saint Martha of Charlottetown

•Sainte-Famille de Bordeaux

•Saints Coeurs de Jésus et de Marie

•Servantes du Très Saint-Sacrement

•Service (Sisters of)

•Social Service (Sisters of)

•Trappistines

•Ursuline Order

Adorers of the Precious Blood

Charité de Montréal

•Charity of Halifax

•Charity of the Immaculate Conception

•Congrégation de Notre Dame

•Congrégation de Notre Dame du Saint-Rosaire

•Eucharistic Heart of Jesus

•Filles de la Sagesse

•Filles de Jésus

•Filles de Marie-Auxiliatrice

•Filles de Marie-de-l’Assomption

•Filles du Coeur de Marie

•Good Shepherd

•Hospitalières de Saint-Joseph

•Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of Christ

•Jésus-Maire

•Maristes

•Mercy of Newfoundland

Women Religious: Canada/ Atlantic Canada

Canada* Atlantic **

Congregations 147 34

Members 18,410

*CRC 2004

1,712

**CCCD 2005

Within the context of Atlantic Canada this means:

diversity in ethno-linguistic origins;

diversity in application of charisms – historically and in contemporary society;

opportunities for innovative studies.

Promising Research Practices

Congregational histories/ biographies : insider / outsider perspectives

Academic studies of Women Religious in larger historical contexts

Community–based studies: Bridges to children, youth and wider community

Interdisciplinary studies

Generations of SongSt. Patrick's Elementary Bay Bulls, Newfoundland Grade: 0-6 Generations CanConnect is a unique initiative of the SchoolNet GrassRoots Program of Industry Canada that helps Canadians develop Internet skills. The program encourages students to interview older Canadians and write stories about their life experiences in order to create an important online historical and cultural record that can be accessed and enjoyed by everyone. And the results are impressive — thousands of stories have already been published on the Generations CanConnect Website.Kathleen's InterviewKathleen is a Grade One student and she interviewed Joan. Q. Did you have music when you were in school?A. When I was in school we didn’t have music classes like you have at your school now. All of my teachers were Presentation Sisters and they taught private piano lessons. You had to pay for the lessons and you had one lesson each week for a half hour. These lessons occurred during school time. When it came time for school concerts, however, the Sisters would prepare music and we would have practices in school. Usually the school would put off a three act play, and in between these acts there would be some musical performances.

Presentation’s RootsParticipating Teachers: Barb O'Keefe, Barbara Brothers, Brian McCormackSchool: Presentation Junior High School Corner Brook Number of Students: 28 Project Overview As part of the grade seven English and Social Studies a grade seven class has contacted a class at Presentation School in Waterford, Ireland. This school was founded by the Presentation Sisters as was our school. The students are exchanging information and developing a package on their local areas. The project will see the students develop an email partnership with students of their own age. The time frame is as follows: January: An exchange of emails between individuals February: Development of a detailed package on our school, local area and province. March: An exchange of the culture of Ireland and Newfoundland - music, art, writing, video of dance. http://www.stellar.nf.ca/1997-1998/district3/present3.html#overview

GEOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF SOME HISTORICAL BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES IN NEWFOUNDLAND

Current Research (2005) Newfoundland Department of Natural Resources The Motherhouse of the Presentation Sisterswww.gov.nl.ca/mines&en/geosurvey/ publications/cr2005/dicksonHB.pdf

Politics and Prayer: The Lantern - Paul ButlerTaking The Lead Taking On The Flight

Introduction: A Nun's Role — At the Bottom of the Church HierarchyThe Catholic Church is a "hierarchical" organization. This means that there are people in charge who tell the

people below them what to do.

1. The Pope is at the head of the Church. The Pope is believed by many in the Catholic Church to be "infallible." This means he is incapable of making a mistake. Popes are elected (chosen) for life.

2. The Pope is elected from among the Church's cardinals. Cardinals are immediately below the Pope in the Church's hierarchy.

3. Below cardinals are the archbishops. An archbishop is in charge of a large area or province that is made up of many "dioceses."

4. Further down the hierarchy are the bishops. Each bishop is in charge of a diocese. A diocese is an area made up of several parishes.

5. Below the bishops are the priests who oversee a single parish.

6. At the lowest level of the organization are the nuns.

The further down the hierarchy a person is, the less say they have in the running of the Catholic Church. The place of women in the Catholic Church is very limited. Women cannot be priests. This means they cannot perform the sacraments like marriage or holy communion. The highest position a woman can have is to be a nun. Nuns, or sisters, have taken a vow to serve God. But they must play a very small and limited role in doing so. Nuns are not expected to speak out for social justice. Their ideas and criticisms about the running of the Church are not welcome. The Church does not expect nuns to play a role in shaping the Church of the future.

This essay will discuss a small group of nuns in St. John's who do speak out. They protest against poverty and social injustice. They also criticize the Catholic Church. These nuns run a centre in St. John's called "The Lantern." There are five sisters in all who run The Lantern. They are members of an order of nuns called the Presentation Sisters. In March, 2000, I spoke to two of these sisters: Dolores Hall and Marie Ryan.

Contemporary ChallengesFor Congregations:

Recognition of themselves as historically significantDocumenting current activitiesAccess policyResources – human and financial

For Researchers:

Why is this topic important?

What to study?

What methodology to employ?

How to gain access to the sources?

Catherine McAuley                                                                  1778 - 1841Foundress of the Mercy Congregation

                                                                            

The Sisters of Mercy Convent

A Primary and Secondary school for girls

Catholic girls' School, established in 1880, with a student population of 900. The school is located in the centre of the city of Adelaide, South Australia and is run by the Sisters of Mercy.

St Aloysius College

Fay Gale (ed.), Making Space: Women and Education at St Aloysius College 1880-200. Adelaide: Wakefield Press, 2000.

The Golden Rosary

Role of material culture

Vision of Sister Clare English

Family connections

Links of Soeurs Grises, Mercy and Presentations

Links to Knights of Columbus and Cardinal James Gibbons

Gospel Values

With Vatican II came the call to renew to a more creative response to the movement of God’s spirit in our day, a call which religious communities took very seriously. The renewal process called us to humanize our structures and policies and to replace patriarchal values with gospel values, a process which involved much struggle and pain. We feel that this ongoing struggle of our congregations to recognize and face oppression and to open ourselves to change and growth can be a sign of hope to our church today as it faces the same challenges. (“The Sisters of Mercy and Presentation Sisters”, C90-94, 26 November 1989)

Hammer and Nail ProjectCouncillor Galgay tabled a letter from the St. John’s Status of

Women Council/Women’s Centre along with a document entitled Hammer and Nail Project - Women and Housing Issues, which he referred to the Director of Building & Property Management. Councillor Galgay advised that The St. John’s Status of Women Council acknowledges the financial assistance of the Samuel and Sadie Bronfman Foundation on Urban Issues, as well as the Sisters of Mercy and the Presentation Sisters in the production of this publication.

Council Minutes 2003-02-10, St. John's Municipal Council

Meet Anita McGean, Pembroke Associate Communityhttp://www.csjfederation.ca/profile/associate/2004/june.html

Both the Presentation Sisters and the Sisters of Mercy were a strong influence throughout my school years and again during my training in the Nursing profession. There was always that special Sister who could be depended upon when I was in need of advice, compassion, or just a listening heart. Along with my parents, they modeled for me a selfless love, courage, and service that was a testament to their love of God; faith in Jesus; and trust in the Holy Spirit.

Let’s continue this discussion:

Dr. Elizabeth Smyth, Associate Professor

Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto

Room 11-290, 252 Bloor St West

Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1V6

v (416) 923-6641 x 8110 ; fax (416) 926-4744

Email: esmyth@oise.utoronto.ca

 

A Public Symposium on the History of Irish Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland

To Celebrate the 150th Anniversaryof the Consecration of the Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist8-10 September 2005The Lantern, St. John’s

Sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s and the Canadian Catholic Historical Association