Sisters of Providence

In Quebec, the native province of the foundress of the Sisters of Providence, an extraordinary number of young women answered to the call to religious life. Deeply stirred by the congregation’s motto: “The Love of Christ urges us”, they made great efforts to offer Society and the Church, their talents and expertise in the service of education, health and social services. Thanks to their unwavering devotion, their ingenuity and conviction in their Mission of compassionate charity toward the more destitute, they became important instruments in the evolution of society of their century.

Today, the Sisters of the Émilie Gamelin Province remain present among the poor, the mentally challenged, the drug addicts, AIDS patients, dependent patients, home visits and assistance to immigrants. They are actively fighting causes of injustice and promoting the rights of women and the care of children as well as respect for the environment. As well they are present as far as in Cameroon, Egypt and Haiti.

Having left Montreal on October 18, 1852, on the invitation of the Bishop of Nesqually, Bishop Augustin Magloire Blanchet, Sister Bernarda Morin (Vénérance Morin, 1832-1929) and four companions arrive in Oregon on December 1^st, 1852. However the necessities of life were becoming scarcer and this was definitely not a good place for the establishment of a religious community. Faced with countless problems, they decide to return to Canada immediately. They travel to California by land then embark on the sail boar Elena, for a three month journey which will lead them, finally, on June 17^th, 1853… to Valparaiso in Chile!

The Church authorities and the local government exclaim “Here are the Sisters of Charity sent to us by the Lord!” Having to beg their hospitality, without any knowledge of the customs or the language of this foreign land, the Sisters decide nonetheless to settle there. They open an orphanage in Santiago; this will be the first of a long series of Houses of Providence in Chile.

On March 17^th, 1880, an apostolic decree from the Holy See constitutes the Sisters of Providence of Chile as a new congregation distinct from the Mother House of Montreal. On December 7^th, 1905, the Constitutions of the Sisters of Providence in Chile are approved definitively by Pope Pius X.

Mother Bernarda died on October 4, 1929, at 96 years of age, having toiled tirelessly for 77 years, and is known as “charity incarnate”. Her love and devotion for the Chilean people were so great that the President of the Republic awards her the Order of Merit, the highest decoration of the country. Steps are presently being taken in view of her beatification.

In the course of the years, the presence of the Sisters of Province has extended over the whole length of the Chilean coast. They respond to the urgent needs of society by opening schools, colleges, boarding schools, orphanages and homes for the aged.

On July 1^st, 1970, the Sisters of Providence of Chile and the Sisters of Providence of Montreal are reunited. The Chilean Congregation becomes the Bernard Morin province. Today, the work of Mother Bernarda is very much alive in Chile and Argentina, particularly in the fields of education, pastoral, assistance to the elderly and the poor.

In 1854, the Burlington Diocese in Vermont, United States, raises a building which houses Providence St. Joseph, an orphanage which the Sisters of Providence who arrived from Montreal take in charge. They will take in orphans there till the end of the 60’s. The building is currently occupied by the Burlington Diocese and known, since September of 1978, as the Bishop Brady Center.

Aside from this first work, the Sisters of Providence will extend their ministries throughout the State of Vermont, multiplying their works in the fields of education, health and social services. Today, more than twenty Sisters of Providence live and carry on their ministry in Vermont, notably in the cities of Winooski and Burlington, where they are very active and appreciated. The Sisters of Providence of Vermont belong to Émilie Gamelin province.

Following up on their first mission in the United States which was not successful (please see above – Foundation in Chile), Sister Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Esther Pariseau, 1823-1902), accompanied by four other Sisters of Providence, arrived in the territory of Washington on December 8^th, 1856. Less than a year after their arrival, they establish the first hospital and one of the first schools in Vancouver in the State of Washington.

During the following forty six years, Mother Joseph and the Sisters answered to the requests of the settlers in the American North-West by establishing hospitals, schools, orphanages, homes for the elderly and mentally challenged, as well as schools for Native Americans. The Sisters of Providence of the American North-West expand their ministries into northwest Canada and as far as Alaska; to the east into Montana and Idaho; and to the south, into Oregon and California, offering their services to all those who are in need.

Because of her contribution to the planning and construction of institutions, many consider Mother Joseph among the first architects of the American North-West. In 1980, when her statue was placed in the Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., the State of Washington conferred on her the title of Historical Leader. She is the fifth woman and the first Catholic religious to appear in the official gallery of “First Citizens” of the United States.

Today, the Sisters of Providence of the American North West constitute Mother Joseph Province. They are mostly active in education, pastoral ministry, health and community services in favour of women and children. They are also involved in housing projects for low income people, in spiritual guidance, in the promotion of social justice and peace, in the protection of the environment and they have a mission in El Salvador.

In the middle of the 19^th century, Bishop Edward John Horan, Bishop of Kingston in Ontario (Canada), makes contact with the Sisters of Providence in Montreal to find out whether they would be willing to come to set up works in view of assisting the city’s elderly and orphans.

Four Sisters of Providence travel to Kingston on December 13^th, 1861, in view of helping to establish a community, which would eventually bear the name the Sisters of Providence of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Having formed the religious to the customs and Constitutions of the Sisters of Charity and having initiated several works (visits to the sick, assistance to the poor, sheltering of orphans), the founding sisters return to Montreal, on September 14^th, 1866, leaving the new congregation to pursue the work of Mother Gamelin and to serve the poor in their own environment.

Today, these two communities continue to meet, particularly on the occasion of the meetings of the Women of Providence in Collaboration, an international organization which brings together different catholic congregations under the name of Providence.

On the 6^th of July, 1886, the Sisters of Providence of the American North-West (please see above Foundation of the American North-West) cross the Northern border and establish the first mission in the Canadian West: St Mary’s Hospital, in New Westminster, British Columbia, which will continue to minister to the region up until 2004.

With the arrival of several sisters coming from Montreal, the works of the Sisters of Providence in the Canadian West quickly multiply, expanding as far as into the Prairies (central provinces of the country : Alberta, Saskatchewan et Manitoba) and into the Northern part of Yukon. The same as in all the places where they go through, they take upon themselves to bring care and comfort to the elderly, the homeless and the orphans, mainly by caring for their health, by making home visits and teaching in Aboriginal schools. Aside from working in big cities like Vancouver and New Westminster in British Columbia and Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta, they also are active in rural and isolated regions where the chronic lack of resources compels them to develop strong aptitudes in resourcefulness and ingenuity.

On August 8^th, 1912, upon the merger of the Saint Vincent de Paul province (State of Oregon) with the Sacred Heart province (Washington State), the works of the Canadian West are grouped in a new entity based in Vancouver (British Columbia): Holy Angels province is born. Since 1920, the Provincial Administration is located in Alberta.

Currently centered in Alberta, the Sisters of Providence of Holy Angels province remain present among the Aboriginal people. Their multiple commitments bring them to serve the poor, assist women and children who are victims of domestic violence, work with ethnic communities and manage the parochial pastoral for the deaf community. As well they are involved in a Centre for Spiritual Renewal and a Care Center for the Elderly.

In 1851, Sister Albine Gadbois devotes herself to teaching deaf girls, a work which filled a genuine need in this second half of the 19^th century. Five sisters of the Gadbois family, all religious, participate in making this institution a thriving one.

Some of the resident young girls inspired and guided by Canon François Xavier Trépanier, chaplain of the institution, express their desire to join the community. In 1887, the Sisters of Providence establish a noviciate within the Institution of the deaf and establish the community of the Sisters of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows (SNDD).

This diocesan community is placed under the authority of the Sisters of Providence whose General Superior also become their General superior. The ministry of this community is aimed at people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Today they are still active in pastoral work and teaching of the deaf, accompanying elderly deaf people and several other charities relating to the community of the deaf. In 2007, this community celebrated its 120th anniversary.