Written by Mary McGuire, csj Published in the Eganville Leader in February, 2021
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.
We hope you enjoyed reading the January story about the humble beginnings of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada/Pembroke Site. As we continue to share this grace-filled story, you will be inspired by God’s abundant love that he bestowed on our Congregation. In this second article our story continues with the building of a new Motherhouse on the property known as St. Joseph’s-on-the-Lake.
After our initial move to the property it became clear that a new building was needed to house our growing community and it was to become a home to many Sisters.
On September 15th, 1952 a ceremony of the ‘Turning of the Sod’ for a new Motherhouse was carried out by Bishop Smith who succeeded our initial benefactor, Bishop Ryan, in the Diocese of Pembroke.
The main and first section of our Motherhouse was built only a few hundred feet from the original farmhouse and was completed in 1954. One Sister recalls loading wheelbarrows with furniture and pushing them across the field. Mattresses were a problem as they often fell to the ground. A watchful eye would catch them and say, ‘Don’t ruin the mattresses. That’s all we have’.
This first expansion included the building of our Chapel, which was the heart of our home and was blessed by Bishop Smith on December 12th, 1954 during a Mass of Thanksgiving. Many Sisters, priests and neighbours gathered to celebrate. Following the Mass everyone was invited to lunch in our dining room where the celebration continued.
The Spirit of God was ever present, guiding us in forming a community of genuine, caring women and the loving support was palpable. We felt the oneness of being a vital part of something much bigger than ourselves. Our journey to fulfilling our mission was just beginning.
Over the years our Chapel was offered to the public for Eucharistic celebrations and times of quiet prayer. We had the honour of hosting many sacred events including a wedding, a baptism and some wakes (or funerals) of lay people who had requested this. We also held the wakes and funeral masses of our own sisters in the Chapel.
Throughout the years there was continual progress toward completion of the Chapel and the facility’s furnishings. The many donations included the beautiful Stations of the Cross which were a gift from Father Dowdall and a new Chapel organ was donated by the Catholic Women’s League of Eganville. A statue of St. Joseph was a gift from Father T.J. Hunt and was erected on the lawn in front of the Motherhouse. The plaque at the base of the statue was donated by the Berrigan family. We are very pleased that the St. Joseph statue has found a new home at St. Joseph’s High School in Renfrew.
In 1962, an administrative section, known as the East Wing, was added to the main building. This contained a board room, offices, approximately fifty bedrooms and a spacious auditorium. This addition meant we had more space to accommodate more Sisters as well as host important meetings and events and offer our facility to other community organizations when needed.
In 1967, the West Wing was built to accommodate those aging Sisters who were suffering from ill-health after their years of hard work and dedication to their missions and professions. These special accommodations and facilities included a welcoming and comfortable infirmary, designed and furnished with attention and skill and provided ideal quarters for those requiring nursing care. As our health care facility grew we were able to take in priests and lay people who needed this type of assistance. We had 24-hour nursing care and a Doctor who visited weekly.
This health care facility was of great use to Marianhill at one time. For a short period in 2009, during a transition for some hospital patients to transfer to the new Carefor facility on MacKay Street in Pembroke, we offered our home to 12 infirm patients on our second floor health care unit.
A full-size therapy pool was also part of this west wing addition. Over the years the Sisters made the pool accessible to the local community who needed this type of therapy for healing. One of our Associates, Anita McGean, volunteered to oversee and schedule appointments to swim in the pool on a weekly basis. A referral from a Doctor was required and it was recognized as a way to give back to our supportive community. It was such an important part of our ministry and was so appreciated. The use of the pool was offered free to those who would use it and there were many gestures of appreciation. One man, after a serious accident said, “This therapy pool saved my life and allowed me to walk again.”
Although these expansions provided a warm and welcoming home to the Sisters we were always aware that the land and its original purpose as a farm shaped our culture as a Congregation. Farmers are very dependent on the weather (God’s Providence) and dependent upon each other as neighbours. Those traits inspired the hospitality and simplicity that characterizes us and our community. Our attentiveness to the needs of smaller communities, especially rural communities, has been a value of our Congregation in our apostolic outreach over the years.
From those early days of our journey a debt of gratitude is owed. The Peterborough Congregation sent 27 of their Sisters who volunteered to join the Pembroke Congregation early in our existence. This was a pure gift to our community and would not have been an easy decision to make at that time.
Priceless was the friendship of Bishop Ryan and Father Dowdall who went above and beyond their contributions of interest and precious time. Father Dowdall was unfailing as the most effective public relations promoter of our community.
With bricks and mortar our story supported a foundation in Pembroke to be of service to God’s people. The Sisters were open to all possibilities. Wherever there was a need, the community responded. We received so much affirmation and support. It is true, when you give generously from the heart, it is returned one hundred fold. This was our experience and we are so grateful.
This story ends in thanksgiving of a very special gift that we received - one that we enjoy to this day. In 1968, through the generosity of the owners, a summer camp on the Madawaska River, not far from Combermere, was donated to the Sisters of St. Joseph. The large and completely furnished dwelling was built by Monsignor Biernacki and at his death, was inherited by a number of priests who were both American and Canadian and had, in former times, enjoyed the hospitality of Monsignor Biernacki at ‘II Nocturne’, as it was named. This four-season camp is beautifully situated on the River and was gratefully accepted by the Sisters who continue to use it throughout the year.
Stay tuned as our story unfolds in 2021.
