Now that we are well into 2022, we’d like to take a look back at some of the events we were celebrating at St. Mike’s in December and January of this academic year.

• With the help of the Vice-President’s Working Group on Indigenous Awareness, the University of St. Michael’s College has begun to consider the priorities from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action on which we would like to focus. The working group received a list of suggested priorities and ideas from various departments, including the Dean’s Office, Campus Ministry, Facilities, Kelly Library, and more. The group has met to discuss these and plan to move forward with prioritizing the Calls to Action in our community.

• A working committee has been struck under the leadership of Campus Ministry director Sonal Castelino to begin the process of engaging in Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality. Listening circles will be held in the coming weeks.

• St. Mike’s welcomed Melodie Buhagiar and Lisa Gleva to the community. Melodie serves as the Director of the President’s Office and Secretary to Collegium. Lisa is our new Executive Director of Advancement.

• More than 130 people joined in the virtual launch of 170 Years of Service: A Collection of Essays on the History and Mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto. The book contains several contributions from St. Mike’s faculty and alumni.

• For Let’s Talk Day on January 26, SMCSU and the Dean’s Office held an online Mental Health Seminar, and then offered a virtual screening of the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

• Congratulations to recent Faculty of Theology MDiv graduate Maria Drossos on her appointment as Director of the Metropolitan’s Office in Boston.

• Our friends at Regis College celebrated doctoral candidate Erica Siu Mui Lee, who recently passed her doctoral dissertation defense titled “Exploring the Contributions of Bernard Lonergan and Peter Phan to A Christian Trinitarian Approach to Religious Pluralism” with no corrections.

• In collaboration with U of T’s Campus Security, Campus Ministry collected 12 boxes of winter accessories for St. Basil’s Out of the Cold and $1,580 in gift cards for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

• Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, Joe Maiato rallied his Facilities and Housekeeping colleagues and ran also ran a fundraiser for the local Out of the Cold. The generosity of his department helped him raise $595! Well done, Joe!

• Students, faculty and staff came together—outside—to celebrate with a Christmas Festival in early December. A good time was had by all—and perhaps a Beaver Tail or two…

• As well, two socially distanced dinners—the Commuter Christmas Dinner and the Residence Formal—were held to celebrate the end of term.

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.

Dr. Hilda Koster, a professor of feminist theology and ecotheology, has been named the new holder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto Chair in Theology. Dr. Koster joined the University of St. Michael’s College’s Faculty of Theology in July 2020 and was appointed head of the Elliott Allen Institute for Theology and Ecology (EAITE) earlier this year.

“We welcome Dr. Hilda P. Koster to the Chair for 2022 onward and look forward to how her eco-feminist perspective will enrich theological studies for students and faculty,” says Sister Georgette Gregory, who is Congregational Leader for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto.

Calling it “a great honour and pleasure” to be named Chair, Dr. Koster says she is grateful for the Sisters’ support for her work, and for that of the Faculty overall, noting that “this Chair reflects the Congregation’s longstanding commitment to theological education in feminist and ecological theology.

“The fact that this important Chair is now attached to the Faculty position in ecological theology offers important recognition of the leadership in the field of ecological theology that the Faculty of Theology, through the Elliott Allen Institute for Theology and Ecology, has provided for the past 30 years,” Dr. Koster says. “I look forward to a closer collaboration with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto and hope to create opportunities for our students to learn from and get involved with the Congregation’s important eco-justice ministry and its advocacy work on clean drinking water.”

 The Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto established a Chair in Systematic Theology at St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology in 2007. Dr. Koster is the third person to hold the Chair, previously held by Dr. Margaret O’Gara and then Dr. James Ginther.

 “We welcome this opportunity to support the Faculty of Theology, to commit to the advancement of theological education, and to honour the legacy of our Sisters at St. Michael’s College,” Sister Georgette says. “For 110 years we have contributed to St. Michael’s College as students and as educators in undergraduate and graduate studies. This includes opening St. Joseph’s College (1911 – 2006), a Catholic women’s college and residence. The Sisters and the University of St. Michael’s College will be forever linked by a shared dedication to Catholic education,” she says.

University President David Sylvester describes the Chair in Theology as yet another way the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto have offered invaluable service and inspiration to St. Michael’s.

“From teaching and administrative work to their mentoring and residence for students, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto have shown extraordinary leadership at St. Mike’s for over a century,” he says.

“Dr. Koster’s work in ecotheology and feminist theology speaks to issues of critical importance to our world, echoing themes raised in papal documents such as Fratelli Tutti and Laudato si’. We are profoundly grateful for the Sisters’ support, which will help our students as they find ways to respond positively and productively to the concerns and challenges of the modern world,” he says.

Dr. Koster, whose courses this academic year include Our Common Home: The Origins, Theology and Implications of Laudato si’, will be hosting her first St. Michael’s conference in November. The online event, Doing Theology Amid a Changing Climate: Crossing Divides, takes place November 11 and 12 and includes keynote speaker Dr. Ilia Delio’s leture, “Earth’s Fragility and the Crisis of Transcendence: Why Science and Religion Must be Reconciled.”

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.

In 2020, Sister Penny McDonald celebrated her diamond anniversary of her entrance into the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto. After obtaining a BA at St. Michael’s, her main ministry until 1995 was in education, as a secondary school teacher and administrator. Sister Penny realized her need to deepen her theological understanding for her work with students and in the field of vocational discernment, and was awarded a Master of Divinity degree at St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology. In 1995, Sister Penny moved from teaching to volunteering at St. Michael’s Hospital in the HIV clinic. Later, she directed the Drop-In, a place for women who were homeless or under-housed. For the past 14 years, Sister Penny has worked at Providence Healthcare as a volunteer in the Adult Day Program. The joy and satisfaction of serving in one of the original ministries of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Toronto, and of being part of a welcoming community of compassion, hope, and healing, has been source of joy. 

“Listen to what life is asking you”

On Thursday March 13, 2020, I returned home from Providence Healthcare, where I have volunteered for 12 years in the Adult Day Programme (ADP), a programme for people who have dementia and are living at home. The following day I received an e-mail informing me that all volunteers were suspended until further notice. When I left Providence Thursday I had no idea that I would not be returning on Tuesday to be with the club members and staff.

I am a Sister of St. Joseph of Toronto, and the Charism of our Community is reconciliation and service of the dear neighbour. It is a challenge for me to accept that loving my neighbour is to stay home, to wash my hands, to wear a mask. In contrast, Our Foundress, Sister Delphine Fontbonne, arrived in Toronto in 1851 with three other Sisters in the midst of the Typhus epidemic and took on the management of an orphanage on Jarvis Street. For these Sisters, loving the dear neighbour meant living with the orphans, establishing schools, planning the House of Providence, which would accommodate hundreds of poor seniors, the sick, and immigrants. Sister Delphine died on February 7, 1856. She had stayed with a woman who was alone and distraught, and she had tended to the sick Sisters in her Community.

Today, of course, I want to be with the club members and staff of the ADP, and I await the day when the COVID-19 pandemic will end. Until such time, in the words of Dr. Ted Dunn, as expressed in his book The Role of Meaning-Making in Transitional Times, I “listen to what life is asking me.” I find purpose and meaning in being aware of the suffering in our world, following the news and world events, entering into committee work carried on with Zoom, sorting and organizing and packing, exercising, praying, gardening, reading, listening to music, crosswording. For this moment in time my life is changed. I believe the change is not forever!            

This year our Congregation is celebrating God’s goodness to us for 170 years. It is our prayer that we be healers and show the compassionate face of God to our dear neighbour. March 8 is International Women’s Day and I thank God that I belong to a Community of women—a Community that dates from 1648 in France. I live in the Grace of all the women who spent their lives in service of the dear neighbour without distinction and in fidelity to our call to continue the mission of Jesus “that all may be one”.

Source: Ted Dunn, PhD The Role of Meaning-Making in Transitional Times

Read other InsightOut posts.

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)