St. Joseph s Residence Celebrating our Past, Embracing our Future
Our beginnings: the Sisters of St. Joseph
Three hundred and fifty years ago in Le Puy, France, a group of six women and a Jesuit priest, Jean-Pierre Médaille, founded the Sisters of St. Joseph. Their vision was to be in union with God and others. They worked to accomplish this mission by ministering to the most serious needs in the city, especially those of the poor.
Le Puy, France The congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph spread throughout South Central France up until the time of the French Revolution in 1789.
During the French Revolution, the Sisters of St. Joseph were forced to disband amidst their persecution. Some sisters became martyrs, dying at the guillotine for their beliefs.
When the Revolution ended, one brave woman refounded the Sisters of St. Joseph at Lyon, France. Jeanne Fontbonne was released after being imprisoned during the French Revolution. She was scheduled to be executed the day before her release, during the fall of Robespierre.
Mother St. Jeanne Fontbonne, Second Foundress and Superior General of the Sisters of St. Joseph
Under Mother St. Jeanne, the congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph flourished, spreading far and wide. They descended upon North American soil in 1836, when they were called upon to establish a school for the deaf in Carondelet, Missouri.
In 1851, Sister Delphine Fontbonne and three other sisters from Philadelphia and St. Louis came to Canada to establish a congregation in Toronto. Bishop de Charbonnel requested that they come to Canada to operate an orphanage that was bursting at the seams during the time of typhus and cholera epidemics.
In 1923, Archbishop Sinnot called upon the Sisters of St. Joseph in Toronto to serve the needs of the hundreds of new immigrants settling in the north end of Winnipeg. That year, the Sisters established St. Joseph s General Hospital.
Originally, St. Joseph s Residence was St. Joseph s General Hospital. It was built in 1918 at Salter Street and Pritchard Ave.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto purchased the hospital from Dr. B. Gerzabek, who owned and operated it as a private hospital.
Before Red River College came to be, there was the Manitoba Technical Institute. Prior to this, the Central School of Practical Nurses was at St. Joseph's Hospital from 1923-1945. Practicum placements were offered until 1953.
First Graduates - 1926 At the time, student nurses spent three months in the classroom and nine months receiving supervised training in the hospitals.
In July 1953, the hospital was renovated into a home for the aged at the request of Bishop Pocock. A new wing was added in 1955.
In 1973, St. Joseph s Residence was renovated and licensed as a Personal Care Home by the Government of Manitoba.
In 1975, the Sisters received approval from the Manitoba Health Services Commission to relocate St. Joseph s Residence in the Northwest area of the city of Winnipeg. Sister Roberta Freeman was the first Administrator of St. Joseph s Residence on Leila Avenue...
"I was requested to take a position as Administrator in Winnipeg where we had a Home for the Aged, St. Joseph's Residence, which no longer met the Building Code Standards. I was charged with the responsibility of planning for the design and construction of a new Personal Care Home.
Construction for a 100-bed facility commenced in the spring of 1978. On May 6, 1980, sixty-nine residents were moved from the residence on Salter Street to St. Joseph s Residence on Leila Avenue. The official opening was held on September 14, 1980.
The Sisters of St. Joseph founded hospitals and nursing homes as well as many schools at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary level across Canada.
Even today, the Sisters of St. Joseph continue to serve unmet needs with their life-giving ministries.
The Sisters of Saint Benedict
In 1903 five of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery in Duluth, Minnesota answered a call to teach the children of Polish immigrants in Holy Ghost School, beginning the story of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Winnipeg.
In 1912, with 27 cents to their name, the Sisters of St. Benedict were established as an independent Canadian religious community in Winnipeg. Soon after, they established an orphanage in response to local needs.
Holy Ghost Church, School and first Convent of the Sisters of St. Benedict on Selkirk Avenue
Motherhouse, novitiate and orphanage on Pritchard Avenue
In the early 1930 s the Benedictine Sisters opened Health Care facilities in rural Manitoba in collaboration with the local Archbishop. 480 547 A.D.
From then on, the Sisters of St. Benedict opened Health Care Centres in Gimli, Birtle, Winnipegosis, Russell, North Dakota, and Arborg.
In all their Health Care facilities the Sisters tried to Take the greatest care that the sick suffer no neglect, that those who attend to them be God-fearing, diligent and solicitous (RB 36).
On November 20, 1987, the Sisters of St. Benedict became the sponsors and operators of St. Joseph s Residence Inc.
Even now, the Sisters of St. Benedict continue their ministry in health care and in education; in hospitality and spiritual formation through retreat work, spiritual direction/training, and outreach through their Retreat and Conference Centre.
The Catholic Health Corporation of Manitoba
The beginnings of the Catholic Health Corporation of Manitoba lie with a young widow who became a saint. In Montreal, at the age of 26, Marguerite D Youville expanded her home-front store into a mission to serve the poor. On December 31, 1737, her selfless acts inspired three women to share in her mission, and the congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, the Grey Nuns was founded.
In 1844, Grey Nuns were called upon to assist Bishop Provencher with his works in the young colony of St. Boniface.
At one o clock in the morning on June 21, 1844, four weary nuns arrived by canoe at the shores of the Red River.
The Grey Nuns built St. Boniface Hospital in 1871. It was the first hospital in Western Canada. As the charitable works of the Grey Nuns grew, the Catholic Health Corporation of Manitoba evolved. It is now a network of 10 health care centres. St. Joseph s Residence joined the Corporation on February 13, 2003.
Winnipegosis & District Health Centre The mission of the Catholic Health Corporation of Manitoba is to further the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.
As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, St. Joseph s Residence is looking ahead to the future... We are continually looking for ways to improve the quality of care we provide to our residents. In order to better serve our residents, A feasibility study is underway that looks at the possibility of adding an addition to our home.
The expansion would include: A Dementia Care Unit with a walking path Satellite dining rooms on each floor with serverys A volunteer office/lounge Much needed office and storage space
Preliminary sketches - Expansion Project
Every little bit of help counts in helping us live out our mission... As we embark on the biggest fundraising effort in our history, we will be counting on the generosity of our community.
To show forth God s love in an environment of Respect, Reverence, and Hospitality, in the spirit of St. Benedict, by fostering compassionate care to the elderly.
Acknowledgements Many thanks to: The Sisters of St. Joseph, Toronto The Sisters of St. Benedict, Winnipeg The Grey Nuns of Winnipeg The Catholic Health Corporation of Manitoba For their assistance and generosity in allowing us to use their archival information.