175-Year History of Women Religious Congregations in Manitoba

Dora Tétreault

Description

For 175 years, women religious have been at the forefront of education, healthcare, and charitable works in Manitoba.
These intrepid pioneers determinedly left their homes to meet—and alleviate—the harsh conditions of the Canadian Prairies in order to better the lives of its people in the name of the Catholic faith. This book revisits the history and diversity of these many congregations, which selflessly ventured out west to pave the way for the generations to come.

Sujets

• 19th Century
• Modern
• Histoire
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Éditions des Plaines
• Date de parution: 06 juillet 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781988182179
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 52 Mo

Extrait

175 Year History of Women Religious Congregations in Manitoba

A LEGACY OF CARE, COURAGE, AND COMPASSION

EDITED BY SISTER DORA TÉTREAULT

175 Year Histo igious ry of Women Rel Congregations in Manitoba

A LEGACY OF CARE, COURAGE, AND COMPASSION

The women religious monument in front of the Archbishop’s House in St. Boniface, conceived by the artist Madeleine Vrignon in 2016.

Photo by Marcel Druwé.

175YEAR HISTORY OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS IN MANITOBA

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175-Year History o Women Religious Congregations in Manitoba ISBN : 978-1-988182-16-2 2016 © Vidacom Publications 2016 © Bishops’ Message 2016 © Foreword: Sisters o Charity o Montreal/Grey Nuns 2016 © Introduction, text and epilogue: Sr. Dora Tétreault 2016 © Photos: SHSB archives, congregations’ archives and others sources as identified in photo captions.

All rights reserved. No part o this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any orm or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or inormation storage and retrieval systems—without the prior written permission o the publisher, or, in case o photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence rom Access Copyright, the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, One Yonge Street, Suite 1900, Toronto, Ontario M6B 3A9.

The publisher grateully acknowledges the support o the Canada Council or the Arts and the Manitoba Arts Council or its publishing program. We acknowledge the support o the Government o Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Government o Manitoba through the Publishing Tax Credit Program or our publishing activities.

Legal deposit, 2016: Library and Archives Canada Manitoba Legislative Library

Design: Dave Maddocks, Shine Branding Editor-in-Chie: Joanne Therrien Editor: Ben Vrignon Adaptation: Ben Vrignon and Carole Freynet-Gagné Copy Editor: Lynne Therrien Research : Sr. Dora Tétreault, Father Édouard Banville, Maurice Therrien, Brigitte Therrien, Julie Turenne-Maynard, Dielle Vielaure Cover illustration: The first Grey Nuns arriving in St. Boniace in 1844. J. Therrien postcard collection.

Vidacom Publications Les Éditions des Plaines Book Publishers P.O. Box 123 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R2H 3B4 Tel: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.plaines.ca • www.vidacom.ca

Printed in Canada

175YEAR HISTORY OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS IN MANITOBA

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THIS BOOK WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE HELP AND INSIGHT OF OUR MANY FRIENDS AND CONTRIBUTORS. OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE GOES OUT TO ALL OF YOU. A SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Sr. Dora Tétreault, MO

Julie Turenne-Maynard

Gilles Lesage, Société Historique de Saint-Boniace

The Archdiocese o Saint Boniace

Sr. Juliette Thévenot, SGM

Fr. Édouard Banville

The Catholic Health Association o Manitoba

The Catholic Health Corporation o Manitoba

Women religious congregations o Manitoba

The Misericordia Corporation

Dr. Gordon Goldsborough, Manitoba Historical Society

Maurice Therrien

Fr. Robbie McDougall

Josée Cooper

Dave Maddocks

Normand Boisvert

Jacqueline Blay

Dielle Vielaure

The Grey Nuns at the St. Boniface General Hospital, 1930. SHSB Archives CD202–43.

175YEAR HISTORY OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS IN MANITOBA

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« Pinguescent Speciosa Deserti ». The pastures of the wilderness overflow with abundance(Ps. 64:13). This was Bishop Norbert Provencher’s motto and his dream or the lie o the Church during its early years in Manitoba and the vast territory o Northern and Western Canada. He was reerring to the abundance o a lie o aith, a lie o the Church, a lie in Christ, marked by the love o God and the love o neighbour. In order or our fields to produce their harvest, and or the flowers to bloom in our gardens, we need to prepare the ground, to sow, to water, to cultivate, and to protect. And we know the same applies in the realm o aith and love. From the very early days o our Manitoban history, we saw the arrival o intrepid women who would till the soil o aith, who would be key to the development o our Church as a community o aith, love, compassion, mercy, and justice. Since the arrival o the Grey Nuns in 1844 and up until today, some fity communities o women religious have worked among us, and did so with a spirit o generosity and dedication that should inspire our wonder and gratitude. Whether in the field o health, education, catechesis, social services, help toward the poor and the vulnerable, or in pastoral work in parishes and elsewhere, women religious, by their git o sel and their testimony, have transormed our fields and orests, our cities and villages, into places where lie and love have flourished in abundance. In the dioceses o St. Boniace, Winnipeg, Keewatin–Le Pas, and Churchill, as well as in the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy, the legacy o these religious communities can be ound in many

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aspects o the lie o the Church. And, because their vision was so broad, and their hearts were so open, this legacy also let a proound mark on many aspects o our province’s society. For these many women religious, the love and mercy o Jesus Christ knew no bounds. Wherever there was need, especially where there was poverty, sufering, or plights o any kind, these women religious stepped orward, oten with limited resources, to respond to these needs, moved by the love o Christ. Their sense o mission, their trust in the Divine Providence, their willingness to sacrifice, and their compassion had no limits. Whether within the realm o the Church or civil society, we are the heirs o their aith and their love—and we all owe them a great debt o gratitude. Their legacy in education lives on in establishments such as St. Mary’s Academy and the Immaculate Heart o Mary School, and also amongst the numerous other schools o the English-speaking parishes where they once served. The catechisms programs in many o our parishes also owe women religious much, as the Sisters were oten there at their inception. Their legacy in health care and social services endures in all the works o the Catholic Health Corporation o Manitoba, in Misericordia Hospital, and in Holy Family Home. And in each o these institutions or services, one can oten hear not only reerences to the ounding women religious themselves, but also allusions to “the spirit o the Sisters,” which firmly remains like a compass showing the path to the uture.

We must also mention the spirit o collaboration they have ostered when working with the hierarchy o the Church, the bishops and priests, as well as with the laypeople supporting their eforts. With