May 18, 2010 was a day of celebration, when the Government of Canada recognized the founding of our Congregation as an event of national historic significance.
An official ceremony was held to unveil a large bronze plaque, which was then installed in our Heritage Garden on the grounds of the Sisters of Charity Centre.
The plaque reads:
Coming to Halifax in 1849 as teachers, these sisters were the first English speaking Catholic congregation to arrive in Canada. They established and ran a broad range of schools, including Mount Saint Vincent Academy in 1873, and, in 1925, Mount Saint Vincent College, the first degree-granting college for women in the Commonwealth. By 1913 they reported directly to Rome rather than to the local bishop. Beginning in the second half of the 19th century, the congregation expanded from its base in Nova Scotia, providing educational, health care, religious, and social services throughout Canada and abroad. Government of Canada Honours The Sisters of Charity – Halifax.
As S. Donna said in her welcoming remarks, “the Congregation is being honoured in a way that is very special to us. … We who are members today stand on the shoulders of the brave and spirited women who founded this Congregation, and of the many women of vision and action who have gone before us. … And a gathering like this one today reminds us just how well supported we are in all of our endeavors.”
Please visit our Heritage Garden on the grounds of the Sisters of Charity Centre in Halifax, NS. The Garden includes interpretive panels as well as the plaque.
Sisters of Charity-Centre
215 Seton Road
Halifax, NS B3M 0C9
communications@schalifax.ca
Phone: 1-902-406-8077