
Maryvale Abbey, then and now
BY VERONICA STIENBURG This July I immersed myself in the Sisters’ past, researching and writing the history of the Sisters of Providence as teachers at St. Margaret’s School and Maryvale Abbey in Glen Nevis, Ontario. Around that same time my husband and I decided to...

Time capsule located beneath a cornerstone at St. Mary’s of the Lake Hospital
For 50 years, a time capsule was buried beneath the cornerstone of a wing of St. Mary’s of the Lake Hospital in Kingston. Until last week, that is. That’s when the stone was moved and a slim tarnished box was found. Originally shining copper, the box is now a mottled...

From private students that paid for missions to choirs and bands, Sisters taught them all
Sr. Mary Mercedes and the St. Michael’s Junior Band, Belleville, Ontario in 1938.BY VERONICA STIENBURG Music has a long history as an important ministry of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul. From the 1880s until today, Sisters of Providence have shared...

The ‘mission history’ of Apple Hill, Pincher Creek, San Cristobal, Edmonton, Moose Jaw…
Outdoor Mass in Batawa, Ontario. (SPSVPA 014-202.3.4-S-4)BY ARCHIVIST VERONICA STIENBURG Did you know the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul served in La Loche and Ile-a-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan? In Lancaster, Ontario? In Pincher Creek, Alberta? In Entebbe,...

The story of the congregation, one life at a time
BY ARCHIVIST VERONICA STIENBURG The history of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul has often been written about in terms of the missions, institutions and ministries of the congregation. The focus has been on the works of the whole instead of the...

Reviewing the legacy
BY ARCHIVIST VERONICA STIENBURG The Catholic Archivist Group conference was held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan a week before the unveiling of the “Called to Serve” monument in Regina. In light of that upcoming event, Sr. Teresita Kambeitz, OSU, gave a fantastic...

Mothers’ Day 1977 at Cristo Luz Del Mundo Parish in Lima, Peru
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST From the Annals of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul’s mission in El Progreso, Lima, Peru. The celebration of Mothers’ Day provided an opportunity for another and impressive and beautiful liturgy. Before Mass, Padre Juan...

The 400 ‘Home Children’ who passed through the House of Providence
Members of the Kingston branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society Kingston undertook the significant job of transcribing the Congregation’s records of the home children. Here, OGS representatives present Sisters of Providence archivist Veronica Steinburg (left) with...

Why Sister Mary Angel Guardian is considered the Pioneer of the West
Left to right: Sr. M. Teresa (Margaret Mangan); Sr. M. of the Rosary (Kate Mangan); Sr. M. Angel Guardian (Bridget Mangan)BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST One of the many things I love about being an archivist is “getting to know” the individuals who helped make the...

Shining a light in St. Mary’s Hospital, Camrose
Original chapel, St. Mary’s Hospital, Camrose, Alberta ca. 1925. Photo: 203.2.1-92, Archives, Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul.BY VERONICA STIENBURG Ninety years ago, Sister Mary Angel Guardian Mangan supervised the building of St. Mary’s Hospital in...