St. Patrick’s Day
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST The Sisters of Providence celebrated St. Patrick’s Day throughout the years and across Canada as documented in the annals from the various missions. March 17, 1916 – Congregational Annals, Kingston ONSt. Patrick’s Day. Masses as usual....
St. John’s Convent Perth
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVISTThe Sisters of Providence started teaching at St. John’s school in Perth, Ontario in September 1892. Their first convent was a house which served them for over 10 years until they needed more space. In 1904 the congregation commissioned...
The sun-room
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVISTWhen we think of major changes to the Motherhouse over the years, we generally think of additions, not the parts of the Motherhouse that have been demolished. Can you figure out where this photo was taken? And what parts of the...
Hand-tinted Postcards
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST The Archives of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul collects postcards as well as photographs. One of my favourite things in the postcard collection are the hand-tinted post cards. Hand tinted postcards became popular at...
St. Joseph’s School Kingston
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVISTThe Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul taught at St. Joseph’s School in Kingston from its beginnings as the Union Street School. The Union Street School opened in 1946 and was located in temporary military buildings on Union...
Two construction crews … 94 years apart
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVISTOn November 9th, 1931, a photograph was taken of the construction crew, hired by general contractor Angus Robertson Limited, who built the original wing of Providence Motherhouse. In the photograph, the workmen are standing in front of...
Summer at the Cottage
Marillac Villa, Howe Island in the early 2000s.BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVISTOne of the Sisters’ favourite places is somewhere that rarely gets mentioned in the ‘official’ history of the congregation: Marillac Villa, the congregation’s cottage on Howe Island. This...
First Canadian Associates
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVISTThe Providence Associates celebrated their 40th anniversary this year. Although they were founded in 1985, the first Canadian Associates made commitment in 1987 at a ceremony held in the Providence Motherhouse auditorium on September...
The Importance of Radio
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST In these times of mass media coverage, we take for granted that we frequently saw and heard Pope Francis on television, radio, and over the internet during his life, and even his funeral was widely available on television and by...
Did you know St. Paul’s School was originally built on the Motherhouse property?
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST Now that Hospice Kingston is open, you may be thinking that this is the first time there has been a building on that part of the Heathfield property. But St. Paul’s School was temporarily located in that general area of the property...