Albury, Carolyn Alexina

• Sister Caroline Albury, SOS

Born 20 December 1893, Harbour Island, Nassau, Bahamas; daughter of William Albury and Jermina Ellen Albury; entered 14 May 1929;
first vows, 2 February 1931; final vows, 2 February 1937; died 5 February 1978.

Sister Albury was raised in a Methodist family, and after the sudden death of her father when she was sixteen, her mother sent Carolyn to live with a sister in Florida. There Caroline enrolled in a business course at the convent of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Name Sisters and was attracted by the music during a Friday Benediction. At the Benedictine priory in Nassau, Carolyn and her brother Carl were baptized conditionally on March 26, 1916. Following the death of their mother, Caroline accompanied Carl in 1928 to Montreal where he was accepted at the Grande Seminarie. She stayed in the newly-opened women’s residence operated by the Sisters of Service on Drummond Street with the intention of entering the Holy Name Sisters in Montreal. While living at the Sisters of Service residence, she accepted a secretarial position with a U.S. firm. Returning ill from work one day, she collapsed and was cared for by the Sisters.

Four months later at the age of 35, she entered the Sisters of Service novitiate in Toronto on May 14, 1929, professing first vows on February 2, 1931. As her initial appointment, Sister Albury returned to the women’s residence in Montreal for a year. Back at the Toronto Motherhouse almost for the next three decades, she held a series of administrative appointments. Her newspaper experience accounted for a 23-year assignment (1932-1954) as editor of The Field at Home, the community's quarterly magazine. She continued the editorial policy and professionalism of Fr. George Daly, who created the magazine in 1926, highlighting the stories and photographs of the Sisters' missions across Canada. At the Motherhouse, Sister Albury also served as superior (1934-1937) and (1948-1954). At the community's first Chapter, she was elected a councillor and became secretary to Sister General Margaret Guest a month later. During the two successive Chapters of 1943 and 1948, she was re-elected as a member of General Council. From January to August 1944, she served as the temporary superior at Camp Morton.

A musician, she attended the summer music courses of liturgical music (1949, 1950) offered by Monsignor J. E. Ronan of St. Michael's Cathedral, especially as choir director of the Motherhouse and Novitiate choirs singing High Masses and the Gregorian chant. After the Chapter of 1954, Sister Albury began a series of appointments outside of Toronto, reappointed to the women’s residence (1954-1956) in Montreal. Chosen as the Extraordinary Visitor, she traveled across Canada from March to August 1956, visiting each mission on behalf of Sister General Mary Quinn. She documented her travels in a journal and photograph album, giving a snapshot of the 22 missions and 113 vowed members. Shortly afterwards, Sister Albury was appointed as superior of the religious correspondence school (1956-1971) in Regina and oversaw the construction and opening of the new religious correspondence school in 1962. Spending a year (1962-1963), in Fargo, North Dakota, she returned to Regina until her resignation in 1971.

Returning to the Toronto Motherhouse (1971-1976), Sister Albury joined the community's retirement community (1976-1978) in St. Catharines, Ontario, where she died on February 5, 1978. A Requiem Mass was celebrated at the Motherhouse chapel and her body was buried in the community's plot at Mount Hope cemetery in Toronto.

Created by F Rousselle July 7, 2025.

Biographical sketch adapted for brevity from complete biography written by SOS congregational archivist MC Havey.