Three Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception with a car, ca. 1930. Archdiocese Archives Photograph Collection ARCAE-P-833.

The story of the Archdiocese is interwoven with the story of Alberta.  Legal, Leduc, Vegreville, Lacombe; these are just some of the places named after members of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate who played a vital role in the colonization of the West. In addition, the Sisters of Charity of Montreal (Grey Nuns), the Sisters of Providence, and the Faithful Companions of Jesus were among the many women religious who laid the groundwork for our modern social services, founding schools, hospitals, orphanages and homes for the aged.

In addition, organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Knights of Columbus and Catholic Women’s League have helped build a vibrant Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Edmonton.

Heath Care and Social Services

In 1895 three Grey Nuns traveled over 900 miles in 52 days from their convent at St. Boniface, Manitoba, to begin their work at Lac Ste. Anne. Four years later, at the request of Bishop Grandin, they moved to St. Albert and established a health care facility to take care of the sick, the orphans, and the abandoned. In 1894 Bishop Grandin received a letter from Edmonton’s leading Medical Practitioners offering all of their support for the Grey Nuns to build a General Hospital. In the spring of 1895 the groundwork began on a three-story red brick hospital, large enough to accommodate 36 patients.

On May 29, 1900 the Sisters of Misericordia arrived in Edmonton. Wasting no time, they purchased a warehouse to serve as a temporary facility, and on August 29, 1900 they moved into the still incomplete hospital.

Sisters on the steps of the Hospital in Daysland, ca. 1900. Archdiocese Archives Photograph Collection ARCAE-PA-1-0098.

The role of the Miscericordia Hospital was to “meet the needs of unwed mothers-to-be and their babies…[and] to complement the role of the Edmonton General Hospital, opened five years earlier by the Grey Nuns.” Although the goal of Misericordia Sisters was to create a maternity hospital, the institution served both women and men, becoming a multi-purpose facility.

The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity ministered to orphaned and troubled girls from 1912 through the 1970s and operated a residence and school on what is now the site of the archdiocesan Pastoral & Administration Offices, St. Joseph Seminary, and Newman Theological College. Over the next century, additional hospitals and care facilities would be established by Women Religious throughout the Archdiocese.

In 1961, the Archdiocese recognized several needs in the community that were not being met by existing resources. The result was the founding of Catholic Charities, under the direction of a professional social worker, Monsignor William Irwin, O.C.

Monsignor Irwin, along with his team of directors and staff, was responsible for the growth and development of Catholic Social Services to help immigrants and refugees, families and children, along with creating many residences, and treatment centers. The agency began as mainly a professional family counseling service, also coordinating existing social services under Catholic auspices. The staff of four has grown today to over 1,200 and 1,900 volunteers. The agency has developed to deliver more than 100 programs and help more than 60,000 people of all faiths and cultures each year.

Today Covenant Health operates 18 Catholic health facilities across Alberta and Catholic Social Services helps more than 60,000 people each year.

Schools

Archbishop Jordan standing in front of Archbishop Jordan High School in Sherwood park, Alberta, ca. 1970. Archdiocese Archives Photograph Collection ARCAE-P-786. 

Catholic education in Alberta dates back to long before Alberta became a province. One of the earliest schools included one in St. Albert, established in 1863. Many early missionaries also established pioneer mission schools which laid the foundation of Catholic Education in Alberta.

By the mid 1880’s the population of Alberta was growing. As more and more immigrants arrived, the need for Catholic education was evident. In 1883, the Sisters of the Faithful Companions of Jesus answered a request for teachers and established the first Catholic school in Edmonton.

The main objective of the missionaries at the time was to teach basic academic skills to the First Nations and to immigrants. 

Today the mission of Catholic Schools centers on meeting academic needs while providing religious education for all students, in an inclusive environment. Currently 10 school districts operate more than 170 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese.

In addition to providing academic education, many women religious have also devoted their lives to teaching catechism. In 1925 three members of the Sisters of Service initiated their first Alberta ministry to teach catechism correspondence courses. They traveled to the rural parishes across the Archdiocese preparing children to receive the sacraments. The sisters continue to play an important role in teaching sacramental preparation courses at many parishes in the Archdiocese.

Interfaith and Ecumenical Movement

Responding to the call from the Second Vatican Council to increase community and cooperation between Catholics, other Christians and other faiths, in the 1965 Anglican Synod in Edmonton invited the Archbishop to speak to its delegates. Shortly afterward, the Archdiocese accepted membership in the Edmonton and District Council of Churches, the first diocese in Canada to join in this manner with other Christian denominations.

A Service of Christian Unity held at the Jubilee Auditorium in 1967, the largest ecumenical service in Edmonton’s history, was just an example of the new era of understanding and cooperation. The following year, Archbishop Jordan established the Commission for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for the purpose of providing leadership in promoting cooperation and understanding with other denominations and faiths.

Today ecumenical and interfaith relations continue to be important part of the ministry of the Archdiocese as we continue to seek ways to promote the restoration of unity among Christian Church and ecclesial communities, and foster good relations, friendship and mutual understanding between Catholics and members of other faith communities.