As the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto wind down their 170th anniversary celebrations, a new book with contributions from the University of St. Michael’s College community tells the remarkable story of the many ways in which the Sisters have served the broader community.

The book, 170 Years of Service: A Collection of Essays on the History & Mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, was officially launched earlier this month as part of St. Michael’s “Celebrating Sisters in Higher Education” Zoom Seminar Series and will be available for purchase in February.

As St. Michael’s President David Sylvester said in his welcome, “the Sisters helped shape this place and continue to be a part of our future.”

Edited by CSJ archivist Linda Wicks and St. Michael’s fellow Dr. Elizabeth Smyth, the volume contains seven essays tracing the congregation’s activities since the 19th century, with each essay underscoring how the Sisters not only responded to the times, but were ahead of their time, whether in education, health care, or in social justice initiatives.

More than 130 people were online to hear many of the contributors speak briefly about the topics they covered. An essay written by St. Michael’s Interim Principal Mark McGowan on the congregation’s role in education, for example, notes that the Sisters “pushed pedagogical boundaries,” for example being early adopters of kindergarten education, physical education for their young female students, and encouraging professional development to create teachers who are “lifelong learners” themselves.

St. Mike’s alumna M.C. Havey documented the mentoring the Sisters gave the Sisters of Service as the new order began to establish missions and schools in the Canadian West, while Dr. Smyth spoke about her chapter on Mother Moira McGuire, who received the Order of Canada in 1967 for her work in health care. Dr. Smyth also referred to the contribution from St. Mike’s theology professor Dr. Michael Attridge, currently on sabbatical. Attridge’s chapter looks at the dedicated approach the Sisters took to learning about – and embracing – the reforms of Vatican II.

Theology professor Dr. James Ginther, who held the Sisters of St. Joseph Chair in Theology for five years, noted that his chapter addresses the shared values of the Sisters and St. Michael’s, including theological and ecological education.

A final chapter in the book, written by Leah Watkiss, who is Director of the Sisters’ social justice initiatives, looks at current endeavors in which the CSJs are engaged.

As Sr. Mary Anne McCarthy, CSJ, noted in her closing remarks, Toronto historian Donald Jones said of Sr. Delphine Fontbonne, who founded the CSJs in both Canada and the United States, that the contributions she made to life in Toronto is a reflection of the story of Canada itself.

Sr. Delphine arrived in Toronto in 1851 with three other Sisters to care for orphaned and sick children. She died in 1856 while nursing patients during the typhus epidemic that swept the city. More than 170 years on, the love and care she offered the community lives on.

Copies of 170 Years of Service: A Collection of Essays on the History and Mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto is available for order.

The year-long “Celebrating Sisters in Higher Education” series was created by Mediaeval Studies professor Dr. Alison More, who contributed a chapter on the early days of the Sisters, including their decision to move their community from France to Canada. Dates for future events in the series will be posted on the St. Michael’s website.

The University of St. Michael’s College offers heartfelt congratulations to Sr. Anne Anderson, C.S.J., on being named this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada.

“Sr. Anne’s dedication and contributions to both health care and higher education in Ontario have been boundless,” says University President David Sylvester. “She has brought the same passion to health care that she has provided to St. Michael’s in her lengthy career here. We remain grateful for her insights and energy.”

Chair of the St. Joseph Health System Board of Directors, Sister Anne has been a past President of the Catholic Health Association of Ontario and member of the Board of Directors of the Catholic Health Association of Canada.

She was appointed President and Vice Chancellor of the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto in January 2009, having previously served there as Interim President as of July 2008, in addition to her duties as the Dean of the Faculty of Theology. Sister Anne has been a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton since 1958, and served the Congregation as General Councillor and General Treasurer from 1999-2009.

The Lifetime Achievement award was made at the CHAS annual conference, taking place virtually May 6 and 7. The alliance states that “Catholic Health Care in Canada has been blessed with a legacy of faithful leaders whose dedication throughout their careers has built the ministry and ultimately brought healing to persons and communities.”

Sr. Anne, it notes, it notes, is one such leader, a person who has “inspired and mentored numerous others in Catholic health care and whose accomplishments, over the course of a career, have strengthened the ministry.”

“Whether it’s encouraging and supporting students or safeguarding—and advocating for—patient-focussed healthcare, Sr. Anne is a powerful ally. This honour is well deserved,” says Faculty of Theology Interim Dean John L. McLaughlin.

The University of St. Michael’s College commemorates the life of Sister Margaret Myatt, CSJ, who passed away Thursday, August 1 after 65 years of religious life with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto. Friends and colleagues remember Sr. Margaret for her important contributions in the Toronto Catholic health care community, for her religious leadership and service, and for her longstanding and essential support for St. Michael’s.

Former president of St. Michael’s Dr. Anne Anderson, CSJ said Sr. Margaret “was known locally, provincially and internationally for her commitment to Catholic Health Care.” In her leadership roles, “she shaped and re-envisioned institutional care to reflect changed needs in the light of a new reality shaped by ever changing technology.”

Sr. Margaret graduated from St. Michael’s in 1973 with a degree in Religious Studies. She received a diploma in Hospital Administration from the U of T in 1975, the year she became the administrator of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto. In that position, Sr. Margaret was responsible for a difficult task: the merger of St. Joseph’s and Our Lady of Mercy Hospital. The two organizations became St. Joseph’s Health Centre in 1980 after a smooth transition, and Sr. Margaret stayed on in the role until 1990, at which point she became CEO of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Home in Guelph, Ontario.

Sr. Anne discussed these leadership roles in her remarks while presenting Sr. Margaret for a Doctorate of Sacred Letters at a Faculty of Theology convocation in 2005. With jobs and livelihoods on the line, the hospital merger was a “delicate” task that Sr. Margaret facilitated with aplomb. She also “brought about reconciliation to a ‘fractured and fractious community” at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Guelph through “communication and dialogue,” Sr. Anne said, as reported in a story on the Sisters of St. Joseph website.

In an email, Sr. Anne noted that Sr. Margaret’s “wise counsel benefited the many Boards and Committees which sought her expertise.” Over her 35-year career in health administration, these boards and committees included the Metro Toronto District Health Council, the Catholic Health Association of Ontario, the Catholic Health Association of Canada and the Catholic Health Corporation of Ontario.

After retiring from her work in health care, Sr. Margaret was elected General Superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Sr. Anne wrote, “During this period, she fostered and encouraged her Congregation to develop new ministries. Today, Fontbonne Ministries focuses on nurturing community through housing and outreach programs.” Sr. Margaret also “partnered with other religious congregations in a ‘joint ministry’ called Becoming Neighbours which focuses on refugees and newcomers to Canada.”

Former St. Michael’s president Dr. Richard Alway said Sr. Margaret was elected “at a time when the congregation needed a healing presence as well as someone with a clear vision and communication skills.” She proved so effective in the role that she served an unprecedented three four-year terms. Her last election to the role required the congregation to petition Rome for special permission for her to serve a third term, “showing how effective and popular she was.”

In the fall of 2007, Sr. Margaret presented Dr. Alway, then president of St. Michael’s, a donation of $2.5 million on behalf of the order to endow a chair in the Faculty of Theology. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto Chair in Theology is currently occupied by the faculty’s dean, Dr. James Ginther.

In her letter to Dr. Alway accompanying the gift, Sr. Margaret wrote that the Sisters hoped the chair “will serve as a legacy for our Sisters who ministered on campus for over ninety-five years.”

Current St. Michael’s president Dr. David Sylvester joins Dr. Alway and Sr. Anne in acknowledging Sr. Margaret’s contributions to the life of the school.

At the honorary degree conferral for Sr. Margaret in 2005, Sr. Anne discussed the meaning of an honorary degree as “a very public statement of a university’s values.” The then-dean of the Theology faculty continued, “in her life of Service to the Church, her Congregation and the ‘dear neighbour,’ Sr. Margaret exemplifies in every way the deeply cherished values that give life and meaning to the ministry of graduate education, here at the University of St. Michael’s College.”

In an email, Sr. Anne offered further thoughts on Sr. Margaret’s life and work, writing, “As a Sister of St. Joseph, Sister Margaret’s life of faith exemplified in every way the particular charism of the Sisters – care and concern for the ‘dear neighbor’!” She concluded with a passage of scripture: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)