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PREFACE
S0 manifest is the work of Divine Providence in the foundation of
our holy Institute that we propose to preface this little manual
with a brief outline of the humble beginnings, and some of the later
events in the life of the Community.
The Rt. Rev. Thomas Louis Connolly, Bishop of St. John,
subsequently Archbishop of Halifax, was fully alive to the need of
Sisters in his work for the poor and suffering. The ravages of the
cholera in 1852-54 left many orphan children in St. John, and in
other parts of the Province, and his Lordship requested the
Community of Sisters of Charity, New York, to supply Sisters for the
work, but owing to the many calls on i them at the time, none were
available. Previous to this. Bishop Connolly. had met our venerated
foundress, Honora Conway, and learning of her desire to devote
herself to the service of God in the Religious life, he advised her
to enter the Novitiate of Mt. St. Vincent, New York, and prepare for
the arduous undertaking. She had finished her novitiate at the time
Bishop Connolly applied for Sisters. His needs were so pressing that
he brought with him to St. John, Miss Conway and four other Novices
to engage in forming a Community.
The little band arrived in this city in September, 1854, and with
their zealous Superior, Mother M. Vincent (Miss Conway), began the
work of an orphanage.
The Bishop formulated the Rules and received the vows of the
first five Sisters on October 21, 1854. Thus the little grain of
mustard seed was sown. Soon a Novitiate was established, and the
number of the laborers in the Lord's vineyard was increased by
others desirous of devoting themselves to the Religious life, and
sharing in the works of charity and zeal of the new Community.
To recall the beginnings of the Sisterhood is to rehearse the
story of hardship, self- denial, and poverty which initial effort in
establishing a Religious foundation carries with it. Those
beginnings were the acme of suffering and privations not at
intervals only, but throughout the strenuous years of the formative
period. The supreme desire, however, of seeking God alone, and the
bond of union that existed among the pioneer Sisters smoothed their
way and brought them holy joy, serenity and peace of soul. The
little Community was the pride and life of their beloved Bishop, who
often said: "Under God I look upon you as the greatest instrument of
good in the Diocese, if you persevere; and persevere you will. You
are every day present to my mind, and I may truly: say, my earthly
and whatever spiritual pride I have is centered in you."
During the foundation years, when the work of the Sisters was
arduous, and the disadvantages under which they labored many, their
devoted Bishop was guide and help and strength, and his great spirit
of faith kept theirs kindled. Bishop Connolly, on his return from
Rome in 1858, wrote to Mother Vincent from Marseilles as follows:
"You will be delighted to hear that I have given your whole history
to the Hob- Father, and in the fullness of his heart he has been
pleased to bless you, to approve of your institution and of your
Rules, and to grant a plenary Indulgence to each of you on your day
of Profession, its anniversary and the Feast day of the patron Saint
of each Sister, for that Sister, and for all the Sisters, as well as
on seven or eight other festivals of the year. I had your Rules
examined by Propaganda Theologians, and translated for the
examination of the Cardinal Prefect. So you see there is nothing
left undone on my part. I have also procured for you relics, and
they are made up in beautiful cases." Further he adds: "Go on and
prosper, for the hand of the Lord is visibly with you. Do not become
proud or careless about further improvement for that would be the
surest forerunner of your downfall."
From the outset the Sisters threw themselves with zeal and energy
into the work of primary education, and soon schools were opened in
different parts of the city, and later on in other parts of the
Province. When the Common School Law of eighteen hundred seventy was
introduced into New Brunswick, there was a struggle to maintain
Separate Schools. Bishop Sweeney, feeling the burden of supporting
Catholic Schools, in addition to the taxation for the public
schools, too heavy, accepted the concessions made to him from the
school boards. Bravely facing the new conditions, the Sisters set to
work to prepare for the Provincial examinations. In the spring of
eighteen hundred seventy-seven the first school licenses were
granted the Sisters, and on the fourth of April of the same year,
the schools became public schools subject to the laws and
supervision of the Board of Education, since which time perfect
harmony has prevailed. The Sisters have met with great success in
their educational endeavors, and the work of the Community in
education—from the lowest to the end of the High School Grades—has
received the highest commendation of the school officials. Besides
the day schools, the Community has a boarding school.
Many of the Sisters are engaged in work among the orphans, in
homes for the aged and infants, and in the hospitals. Saint
Vincent's Orphanage was the original work of the Community. The
little wooden house gave place to the Convent on Cliff Street opened
in eighteen hundred sixty-five. Soon two wings were added to this
building, one of which contained the beloved old chapel in which so
many of the Sisters bound themselves to the. Master. The other wing
is occupied by the orphans. The zealous effort of Bishop Sweeney and
the generosity of Patrick McCourt made it possible, to open a boy's
industrial school at Silver Falls in eighteen hundred eighty. These
Orphanages care for children from the age of two or three years, but
the need of a. refuge for infants was felt for a long time before
Saint Vincent's Infants' Home was opened in nineteen hundred
fifteen. This Home has proved its usefulness, and is growing in
spite of difficulties. The Mater Misericordiae Home was opened for
the aged in eighteen hundred eighty-eight. Here many aged and
helpless are sheltered and treated in wards and private rooms. The
St. John Infirmary, now Saint Joseph's Hospital, came into existence
in nineteen hundred twelve. Trained Sisters are in charge of the
hospital and training school, for nurses, where the Sisters and
secular nurses are preparing for their work.
Until the year nineteen hundred six, the activities of the
Community were confined, to the Province of New Brunswick, but in
that year four Sisters went to Saskatchewan to take charge of the
Orphanage at Prince Albert. There, as in this province, the work of
the Sisters has been blessed. In nineteen hundred ten the Hospital
of the Holy Family was opened at Prince Albert. It has done good
work in a province which is just being settled, and in which there
are so many in need of shelter in time of sickness and accident.
This Hospital has already been enlarged to meet the demands made on
it. This western mission must always be of special interest to the
Sisters as it was the first venture of the Community outside the
home territory. In 1926, Saint Joseph's Hospital, Radway, Alberta,
was opened to meet the needs of a rural population. This little
hospital has acquired as much modern equipment as the building can
accommodate; and is giving valuable service in its environment.
Saint Vincent's Hospital, Vancouver, is the latest of our western
hospitals. It was opened in 1939. It is a hundred bed hospital at
present, well equipped with modern apparatus. The plans allow for a
wide extension.
During the first fifty years of its existence the spiritual life
of the Sisters received its character from the old Rule written by
Bishop Connolly. There are many and fragrant memories, scantily told
stories of the hidden lives of our really Saintly predecessors,
whose fidelity to Rule and genuine charity were the outward
expression of the interior spirit which characterized the Sisters
who were formed in the old days by the old Rule and according to the
ideals of the founders. But it became necessary to revise the Rules
and Constitutions to bring them into conformity with the new laws of
the Church. This was a work which called for much careful labor and
prayer.
A General Chapter for the election of the Mother General and her
Assistants under the new regime was held in nineteen hundred twelve.
The revised Constitutions were submitted to the Sacred Congregation
at Rome charged with affairs of Religious Communities for the
approval of the Holy See, in nineteen hundred thirteen. The
Constitutions of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception
received the Decree of Praise, May nineteenth, nineteen hundred
fourteen. Thus the Community was given an acknowledged place among
the Institutes in "the bosom of Holy Mother Church." Cardinal
Giustini was appointed Protector of the Community July 23, 1915. He
was succeeded by Cardinal Sbarretti. At his death Cardinal
Fumasoni-Biondi was appointed to that office; and one of our prized
possessions is his autographed picture, with his blessing for "his
dear Community of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate
Conception".
In conclusion, we add the following exhortations of our zealous
and revered founder, with the hope that they may be often read and
pondered on, and that they may inspire each and every Sister to
greater fervor and encourage her to strive after higher perfection.
"All who wish to embrace the Community of the Sisters of Charity
must be animated with a desire to renounce every worldly object, to
give glory to God, to save their own souls, to instruct and assist
and edify their neighbor, to build up and sustain by every means in
their power that beauteous Church of God on earth of which they
ought to be the shining ornaments. . . . As poverty of spirit, which
is humility or the total denial of one's self, is the foundation of
the Religious life, so is the Godlike virtue of Charity its crowning
ornament and perfection. Charity is but the result of the three
great Religious virtues. If a Sister fails in any of the three
essential virtues, she can have no pretension whatever to Charity,
which is the perfecting of every heavenly gift, and the glorious
distinction of her calling. She may bear the name and wear the
habit, but in the sight of God she is a worldling and worse than a
worldling. She must be chaste, therefore, and obedient and poor in
spirit, and then she will have always that peace of God which
surpasseth all understanding, and the joy of the Holy Ghost .in her
heart. She will be always happy, always content, always delighted
with every .duty of her state, always thinking wonderfully of God
and lowly of herself and charitably of every one else, always and in
all things giving glory to God, edifying the Sisters and the world
with whom she comes in contact, always speaking in psalms and hymns
and spiritual canticles to the Father, and making melody in her
Heart to Jesus until He come." '
December 8,1917. |
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