Series A: Slides contains all of the slides that were housed in binders in the office of Ken Jones. Binders were arranged by subject and, with the exception of a few, labelled numerically from 1-28.

*Note that some slides contain an abbreviated subject label; see below for the “subject key”.

Slides Subject Key
ADM = Administration
AST = Astronomy
BIO = Biology
CH = Chemistry
CON = Construction
COUN = Counselling
CUL = Cultural/Clubs, etc.
DRA = Drama
EXT = Exterior Architecture
FA = Fine Art
FR = Front Entrance
FT = Field Trips
G = Gallery
GEO = Geology and Earth Sciences
GRAD = Graduation (convocation)
HUM = Humanities
INT = Interior Architecture
LI = Library
Lit = Literary
MUS = Music
OR = Orientation
PHY = Physics
PR or MLH = Miller Lash House/Principal’s Resident
REC = Rec Centre
RES = Resident
S/EXT = Students outside
SC = Summer Camp
V = Valley
VILL = Village Centre

Covers of the original binders have been photocopied and stored in a file with the corresponding photographs.

File consists of two folders. The first folder consists of an undated bound and typed manuscript titled "Canvas of Love: Reflections on Rembrandt" by Henri Nouwen. The manuscript is 228 pages.
The second folder consists of handwritten and typed manuscripts, correspondence and other documents related to "Canvas of Love: Reflections on a Rembrandt", including slides of Rembrandt's "Prodigal Son."

Records in the fonds were created and collected by members of the Asianadian Resource Workshop in their founding and production of a quarterly magazine titled The Asianadian: An Asian Canadian Magazine.

The fonds consists of two series: Textual records; and Magazine.

Series contains correspondence about Stein’s personal matters, journalistic interests, politics local to Toronto, involvements in legal proceedings, and publication efforts. Stein’s membership of The Writers Union of Canada, the Annex Ratepayers, and other associations is represented in the correspondence. Select ephemera and press clippings Stein collected are also included in this series.

Fonds consists of professional and personal correspondence, drafts of Stein’s published and unpublished writing, and ephemera collected from his life and work in Toronto. The majority of correspondence represents his activities in Toronto and his local political involvement, with some earlier records depicting his time in Paris. Most writing is from his endeavours outside of journalism. Fonds is divided into two sub-series: Correspondence; and Writing. See series descriptions for more detail.

Records in the fonds were created and collected by members of the Jai family in their personal and family lives which developed around their deep practice and love for Cantonese opera and traditional Chinese music. Records reflect their use and command of the art forms to build early Chinese identity, family, community and culture in Canada, with a focus on Toronto and Vancouver.

The fonds consists of four series arranged by record type: Photographs; Textual records; Recordings; and Artifacts.

Many records are thematically interrelated across the four series and between files.

Records in the collection were created in 2024 over the October 26 and 27 weekend through the artist-led public program, Scent of Thunderbolts: Family Portrait Sessions, by artist Karen Tam, for her commissioned installation in the Toronto Biennial of Art.

Members of Chinese Canadian communities in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area were invited to participate in a family photoshoot within Tam’s immersive installation titled Scent of Thunderbolts 雷霆之息. Participants include members of the Toronto Biennial of Art. Portraits were taken by Toronto-based photographer, May Truong.

Scent of Thunderbolts used the form of a Cantonese opera to address Chinese diasporic sonic memory, drawing inspiration from archival collections, studio photography, and conversations with performers and community members to integrate reimagined elements from Cantonese opera, including props, stage settings, backdrops and furniture.

The family portrait sessions evoked the historic San Francisco photo studio, May’s Studio, that photographed Cantonese opera performers throughout the early-to-mid 1900s. The program invited participants to define what family and home meant to them through the act of having their photograph taken. They were asked to consider the meaning of “family” broadly, transcending immediate blood relations to include intergenerational extended families, chosen kin, and those with whom they shared home and time.

As part of Tam’s larger artistic practice and research, the collection of images had the expressed goal of being deposited in a community archive specializing in Chinese Canadian history, with participant consent.

This series consists of photographs that record Ezra Schabas’ life. It includes pictures of Ezra Schabas with his peers, his family, at events and his portraits. This series also includes prints, two photo albums, and autographed pictures from notable figures in the music industry who were friends and colleagues with Ezra.

Sub-series consists of approximately 221 slides taken by or collected by Nouwen. These slides are early personal photographs of Nouwen's.

Records in the fonds relate to Vivienne Poy’s family, education, writing and publishing, entrepreneurship, business and community leadership, philanthropy, public service and public profile. Record types include business and personal correspondence, speeches, newspaper clippings, awards and photographs, and sound recordings that make up an oral history collection.

The fonds consists of four series: Family and education; Political papers; Personal, business and community; and Awards and Photographs. Many of Poy’s records are functionally and thematically interrelated across the four series and between files.

File consists of four slides featuring miscellaneous photographs. Two of the photographs feature Henri Nouwen; in both photographs he is reading a pamphlet or magazine. One photograph features Nouwen's parents, Laurent J. M. and Maria Nouwen, dressed more formally and standing outside, possibly at a horse race. The fourth photograph features Laurent J. M. Nouwen sitting in a study smoking a pipe while a young girl, possibly Nouwen's niece, smiles at the camera.

File consists of 86 slides featuring photographs taken at the Vatican II Council, most likely taken by Nouwen. The Second Vatican Council began on October 11, 1962, and closed on December 8, 1965. Photographs feature St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, including two photographs taken outside in St. Peter's Square. The photographs show the many people seated inside the Basilica during the Council, and also show the Pope and other Bishops and Cardinals. There are a few photographs taken during a break, including a photograph of a refreshments stand. Included in the file is one photograph of Nouwen inside an office.

File consists of 8 slides featuring photographs of an unidentified location, possibly in Mexico. This includes three photographs of ruins, possibly Mayan ruins, as well as five photographs of an unidentified city.

File consists of 8 slides featuring Maria Nouwen, Laurien Nouwen, Marc van Campen and other unidentified people likely taken during the festivities surrounding the marriage of Laurien Nouwen and Marc van Campen in June 1966. Six of the slides feature people, including Maria Nouwen (P5100, P5101); Laurien Nouwen and Marc van Campen (P5096); unidentified men in suits and an unidentified women in semi-formal attire (P5097 - P5098). The two slides which do not feature people show houses, which may be the buildings where the couple were married and received by families and friends.

File consists of 9 slides featuring photographs taken aboard a Dutch naval ship, likely as part of a tour. Several unidentified people in plainclothes are visible in the photographs, as well as several men in naval uniforms. Shown in one photograph is a man sunbathing on a beach chair. Also depicted is a plane with the label "KON MARINE" [short for Koninklijke Marine, or "Royal Navy", part of the Dutch Ministry of Defence]. Photographs depict the parts of the large ship, including one photograph taken of the unidentified people on the bridge (the room with the steering wheel). Harry Derkx and [his?] children appear in some of the photos.

File consists of 63 photographs, including some commercial slides, of Brazil. The photographs were likely taken by Nouwen while on a family trip to Brazil. Depicted in the commercial slides is Sao Paolo and important buildings. The contents of the photographs include: Nouwen family members, including Laurent J.M. Nouwen and Maria Nouwen; a horse race; ships and boats; city streets and a fruit market; children and others on a beach; nuns in front of a hospital (P5065), in front of other buildings, and standing with small groups of people; a red dirt road; construction on a house.

File consists of 211 photographs taken in the Netherlands Antilles (also known as the Dutch Antilles), likely taken by Nouwen. This was likely a training exercise trip taken by members of the Dutch army, including Nouwen while he was a chaplain in the Dutch army.

There are photographs taken while on a hike to the top of a mountain [Christoffelberg], including photographs of several men in green army fatigues, and one photograph of Nouwen in fatigues sitting atop a rock. It appears as though the army conducted a hike, and then were able to sightsee on the island of Curacao.

Other contents of photographs include: a yellow villa (landhuis?); Koffiehaus Jan Cristian in Westpunt [Jan Cristian coffee house]; landscapes including beaches, mountains, cacti, and cactus flowers, and cliffs; city streets and shops; a group of men (likely the same men as depicted in fatigues) socializing; three black children; a group of older people and some children (possibly other Dutch people visiting); people of various ages jumping on a trampoline outside. There are also photographs of men working outside installing some sort of machinery, including one photograph of Nouwen, and also photographs of men at a beach, including one photograph of Nouwen.

File consists of 158 photographs, most likely taken by Nouwen, featuring the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and other landscapes located in Arizona. Nouwen is depicted in three of the photographs. For the most part, contents of the pictures feature views of the Grand Canyon, the landscape as taken from a vehicle driving on a road, and rock formations in Sedona, including the Chapel of the Holy Cross. There are two unidentified men in several of the photographs, and these men were possibly colleagues of Nouwen's at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, KS.

File consists of 19 photographs of an unknown group of men. These photographs were likely taken while Nouwen was teaching a non-credit course to priests on Pastoral Care at Moreau Seminary, Notre Dame University (Notre Dame, IN). There are seven men visible in the photographs. They are at a large house in a rural area. Also depicted is a wooden walkway and some trees, and one of the men catching a ball.

File consists of 35 photographs of a football game between the University of Notre Dame and Purdue University from 1966. These photographs were most likely taken by Nouwen. Contents of photographs include: the crowd in the stands, the marching bands on the field, the Purdue mascot and a large bass drum, close-up shots of the marching bands outside of the stadium, and crowds outside the stadium. A second group of photographs depict the game as well as the Notre Dame marching band in a park area.

File consists of 43 photographs from August to September 1966, most likely taken by Nouwen. Photographs feature images taken at the University of Notre Dame, including photographs of the University Administration building, the Sacred Heart Church, and the Notre Dame Memorial Library. There is an unidentified couple pictured in several of the photographs from the University of Notre Dame; the woman is wearing a green dress. There are also photographs taken inside a train, and photographs of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

File consists of 33 photographs from the fall of 1965, most likely taken by Nouwen during the time he was working at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, KS. The exact locations of many of the photographs are unknown. Contents of the photographs include: a destroyed brick church (possibly in New Orleans, a small piece of a sign reading "Carrollton...Wrecking"), a beach, a cityscape (taken from a car); green fields in fall; a parade (possibly taken in Kansas City); and the construction of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO inside Jefferson National Memorial.

File consists of 39 photographs, mostly likely taken by Nouwen, in Mexico. One photograph features Nouwen and one photograph features Nouwen's parents. Featured in the photographs is Guadalajara cathedral, a fountain in Guadalajara, other churches, views of city streets, and photographs taken in a rural area with views of mountains and a town with a large church.

File consists of 127 photographs taken while Nouwen was working at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, KS. The photographs feature landscapes, the outside of the Menninger Clinic buildings, unidentified people (including several children), a group of men hunting in the winter, a group of men riding horses (including one photograph of Nouwen and several taken from the back of a horse), a red Volkswagen Beetle car, a large group of men in a line entering a large building (possibly a capitol building?), some of a lunar module outside (possibly taken in Houston?). These photographs were likely taken by Nouwen between November 1964 and November 1965.

File consists of 116 photographs taken in New Mexico, most likely taken by Nouwen while on a trip to New Mexico with his parents. These photographs mostly feature landscapes and buildings: desert, forests, and rock formations. Some photographs feature the San Miguel chapel at San Miguel Mission, the Chaco Canyon ruins, some Pueblos, and a red Volkswagen Beetle car, which Nouwen and his parents likely drove while in New Mexico. Several of the photographs feature Nouwen's parents. Three photographs feature Nouwen.

File consists of 59 slides featuring photographs taken around Israel. It is likely that Nouwen took these photographs while on a trip to Israel in the late 1950s. It does not appear as though Nouwen is in any of the photographs. Some photographs do feature individuals, but the photographs mostly feature landscapes and buildings, including photographs of Nazareth, Haifa, Judea mountains, and a kibbutz.
The slides are numbered, in Nouwen's hand, and included in the file is a list which matches the numbers and briefly describes the contents. List is in Dutch.

File consists of 40 slides featuring photographs likely of Houston, TX, Baton Rouge or New Orleans, LA, and Miami, FL. It is unknown when these photographs were taken, but it is possible they were taken around the time Nouwen was staying in Powhatan, LA, in 1962. Photographs feature landscapes and buildings, and a few unidentified people, including three nuns.

Records in the fonds relate to the founding, development and activities of the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter. Record types include meeting minutes, business correspondence, funding applications, position papers, media releases, newspaper clippings, and photographs and negatives.

The fonds consists of seven series: Minutes, etc.; Funding applications; Organizational memberships and correspondence; Projects and issues; Legal cases; Publications and photographs; and News clippings.

Many of the organization’s records are functionally and thematically interrelated across the series and between files.

File consists of 104 slides featuring photographs likely taken in Ireland and in the United Kingdom. Photographs feature unknown individuals in unknown landscapes. There are some photographs of mountains, stone markers, and a photograph of a group of priests in front of a stone church (P4146). There is one photograph featuring a bust of John Henry Cardinal Newman (P4091). There is one image featuring a city street with double-decker buses (P4105).

Records in the fonds were created and collected by David Lai in his teaching and research capacity based in Victoria, British Columbia. Records relate to his 35-year tenure at the University of Victoria which spanned research and teaching on the geography of China, Hong Kong, and other Pacific Rim countries.

Records relate to Lai’s research and heritage conservation efforts that spanned North American Chinatowns as overseas Chinese communities. Records reflect a focus on Victoria’s Chinatown and other Chinese Canadian communities as products of emigration and immigration.

A series relates to Lai's award recognitions and publishing (i.e. his CV).

A series relates to Lai's research on Asian-themed malls and their development in the Greater Vancouver (Richmond) and Greater Toronto areas in the late-1990s.

File consists of 44 slides featuring photographs taken in an unknown location, perhaps somewhere in the Caribbean, such as Haiti. There are palm trees visible in some photographs, and other trees. There are several photographs of small children, as well as some that appear to be taken inside a school (P4030-P4031). There are images of huts and people standing near to these huts. There are also some photographs of white priests in white robes, perhaps at a Mission building. Several photographs feature the outside of a white cement-block church. There are other white adults in photographs, perhaps other Mission workers. Some photographs were taken in a city, some featuring a marketplace, and some featuring city streets and a wall along a bay. An older man and woman are in some of the photographs in different locations, but they are unidentified.

File consists of 47 slides featuring photographs taken in the Netherlands. These photographs were possibly taken in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Some photographs feature the canal that runs through Amsterdam. There are photographs of buildings in a city as well as in a more country setting, as well of some photographs of windmills. There are also several photographs of paintings, perhaps done by Rembrandt van Rijn (P3964-P3966).

File consists of 137 commercial slides, collected by Nouwen. These slides feature images of a statue of Erasmus (Rotterdam, the Netherlands); the steamer boat "President" (New Orleans, LA); Bourbon Street in New Orleans, LA; images of the S.S. Maasdam of the Holland America Line (possibly the ship on which Nouwen worked as chaplain in 1961); Mammoth Cave, KY; Sawyer's demonstration slide of a Mirascreen projection for slides; Curacao; unknown South American city; 'New York City Skyscrapers'; 'Pope Paul VI in the U.S.A.'; University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN); New York City, NY; Native American dancers from Buffalo Ranch; two sets of slides featuring the Abbey of Gethsemani (Trappist, KY); Mexico; Mexican folklore dances; 'My Old Kentucky Home' (photographs of a home and actors inside); the Grand Canyon National Park, AZ; Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Cordoba, Mexico; paintings by Holbein and Frans Hals; and the Gemini IV space walk from June 3-7, 1965.

File consists of 1 slide featuring an icon by Andrei Rublev, titled "Christ the Redeemer" or "Le Sauveur" ["The Saviour"]. The icon features Jesus Christ. The actual icon is damaged, and was a fresco, possibly painted by Rublev in the 1420s for one of Zvenigorod cathedrals. The icon is now located in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia.

File consists of 14 slides from a trip taken by Nouwen. Nouwen is in none of the photographs. The contents of the photographs include, two photographs of a Pan American airplane, the outside of Miami International Airport, the inside of the airport, a photograph of a National airplane, a view of the National terminal at the airport, and 7 photographs taken from the window of the airplane during the flight. It is unknown why Nouwen took this trip, and where he was flying.

File consists of 91 slides of a trip taken by Nouwen to Washington, D.C. and perhaps Florida, including two photographs of Nouwen. The purposes of this trip are unknown. There are several unidentified people in the photographs. Depicted in the photographs is: an older couple standing in a doorway, a gas station (named 'American'), views of Washington, D.C., the Capitol Building, a beach (likely Florida or another southern State), the White House, several aerial shots taken from an airplane (including a view showing the city of Washington, D.C., as well as of the Lincoln Memorial and Mall), the Washington Monument with an unidentified man in the foreground, the Lincoln Memorial, unidentified landscapes (some of water), the Iwo Jima memorial, some photographs possibly taken on or from a boat, photographs with trees that are in southern states (such as palm trees), and an unidentified woman reading. Some photographs in the series P4200 - P4236 feature the same unidentified young man.

File consists of 4 slides featuring photographs of a trip taken by Nouwen, including two photographs of Nouwen. Nouwen is with an unidentified group of people. In three of the photographs, Nouwen and those with him are on a large boat, perhaps a ferry (there are benches in one photograph). The last photograph was taken in a city (a city is visible in the background of one of the earlier photographs).

File consists of 172 slides of a trip taken by Nouwen. These photographs mostly depict landscapes or unidentified people, although there are several of unidentified cities. Many of the photographs have an imprint which indicates the photographs were taken between August and November 1961. It is likely that Nouwen was in Powhatan, Louisiana, at this time. Slides include photographs of a rural setting, including a man riding a tractor in a field, Leone's Grocery store (in Powhatan, LA), other small grocery stores and gas stations, a lake, children sitting on porch steps, a white church, fields, the building of a house, boys on horseback, a building on fire, a second white church, people on a beach and cotton workers. While in Powhatan, Nouwen likely traveled and took photographs of the cities he visited, including Baton Rouge, LA (P3337, P3340) and Houston, TX (P3344, P3355). There are also two photographs of three nuns on a beach (P3349, P3350). There are four photographs of Nouwen in the file (P3283, P3315, P3320, P3897).

File consists of 138 slides of Nouwen's trip to Greece with several unidentified friends. Slides depict mainly local scenes and scenery, and were previously housed in four slide trays each labelled "Griekenland" I - IV.

File consists of seventy-four slides of Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights march (attended by Nouwen), which began in Selma, AL, on March 21, 1965, and arrived in Montgomery, AL, on March 25, 1965. File also contains seven slides taken by or featuring Nouwen, including one slide featuring Nouwen in military uniform, one slide of the original Menninger Clinic, one slide taken by Nouwen during a trip, and four slides from a University of Notre Dame football game.

Sub-series consists of original published articles written and cowritten by Nouwen, about Nouwen or of interest to Nouwen between 1956 and 1965. A majority of the articles are dated between 1956 and 1958 with others being undated and one article by Nouwen's uncle, Antonius (Toon) Ramselaar, written ca. 1965 (at p. 12). A photograph featuring a "Wayside Shine" in Dublin, Ireland is found on p. 8. All articles are described to the item level except for the two by Ramselaar.

General account books, land survey reports, land transaction records and letter books of King's College and University of Toronto (ca. 1828-1921); account books, land records, letter books and records relating to restoration and scholarship funds of Upper Canada College (ca. 1828-1909); records relating to commissions (ca. 1848-1905); correspondence with the Office of the Bursar relating to land transactions (ca. 1851-1890) and financial records of extra-curricular societies and clubs (1898-1912).

File consists of reference materials such as newsclippings, newsletters, and miscellaneous notes describing the Churchill community and the SOS activities there. Accompanied by six colour postcards depicting Churchill, Manitoba.

Fonds consists of the governance, administrative, and personnel records for the community of the Sisters of Service. This includes reports, financial records, meeting minutes, policies, General Chapter records, operational correspondence, publications by and about the SOS, photographic materials, audiovisual materials, personal records of Sisters, and a collection of artifacts and memorabilia related to the SOS.

In addition to records of the SOS members and co-foundress, Sister Catherine Donnelly, the fond also contains records of its priestly co-founders, Archbishop Neil McNeil, Rev. Arthur Coughlan, CSsR, and Rev. George Daly, CSsR.

The Fonds is divided into the following series:

1. Founding
2. Governance and Administration
3. General Chapters
4. Motherhouse
5. Novitiate, Formation, Vocations
6. Missions
7. Personnel
8. Writings
9. Catechetics and Religious Education
10. Photograph and Slide Collection
11. Audio Visual Collection
12. Artifacts and Memorabilia

Subseries consists of photographs of educational events led by Esprit Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra in concert, and promotional photographs of musicians. In addition to promotional photographs of Esprit Orchestra and Alex Pauk, the subseries includes photographs of the following musicians and composers: Robert Aitken, John Burke (2), Francis Chan, Maureen Forrester, Chan Ka Nin, Barbara Hannigan, John Hess, Scott Irvine, Rosemarie Landry, Tomas Dusatko, Joseph Macerollo (2), Marie-Danielle Parent, Jon Kimura Parker (3), Christina Petrowska, John Rea (2), Frederic Rzewski, Ryan C.W. Scott (2), Harry Somers, Norman Symonds, Andrew Tees, Jean-Guy Thibodeau, Gilles Tremblay, Owen Underhill.

Item consists of a photograph of Nouwen, wearing a dark gray sweater over a blue collared shirt, seated on a wooden chair outdoors in a grassy yard; a white house with black shutters is visible in the background.

Fonds consists of material documenting the professional life and work of Prof. Judith Friedland. Records focus on her education and career within academia, in particular as a professor, and former Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy. Material also covers some aspects of Prof. Friedland’s career working as an occupational therapist. Records include typescripts and presentation notes, administrative records from the Department of Occupational Therapy, teaching and course material, clinical notes, correspondence, awards, and biographical material.

The history of occupational therapy in Canada has significant coverage through records related to the research and publication of Prof. Friedland’s book, Restoring the Spirit, as well as through the collected records of Helene Primrose LeVesconte, Thelma Cardwell, and Isobel Robinson. Represented in Series 8 to 10, these three individuals each served as former heads of the UofT’s Department of Occupational Therapy, in addition to teaching and practicing occupational therapy. The collected historical material includes minutes, typescripts, correspondence, artifacts and teaching material.

The contribution of the Sisters of Service at Pier 21, now a National Historic Site, is honoured in the site's national museum in Halifax, which opened on July 1, 1999. For more than four decades, Pier 21 was known as the Gateway to Canada. From October 1925 until 1969, the Sisters of Service welcomed, assisted, directed and cared for Catholic immigrants, who were part of the one million passengers who embarked from trans-Atlantic boats, ships and ocean liners at this Eastern Canadian point of entry.

In constant demand in the adjacent Immigration Building, the Sisters provided reassurance, encouragement and support to the newly-arrived as well as acted as interpreters. In addition to giving guidance about immigration procedures, the Sisters helped to locate baggage and relatives, send telegrams and buy food for the train journeys. Addresses of the Sisters' residences in six Canadian cities were distributed as well as prayer cards, small religious articles, addresses of foreign-language newspapers and ethnic organizations across Canada. The names and addresses of the immigrants were typed and sent to their future dioceses and parishes.

Over a two-month period in 1926, the Sisters met 30 boats and assisted 2,475 passengers. With the reopening of Pier 21 after the Second World War, the Sisters returned, meeting 98 ships and assisting 23,529 passengers in 1948. Eight years later, immigration continued to escalate and the Sisters met 168 ships carrying 40,596 passengers, more than half of whom were Catholic. During the 44 years at Pier 21, a total of 13 Sisters served with three Sisters concurrently at the port during the peak periods. On the front lines were the Sisters who spoke European languages, particularly Sisters Mary Szostak (1929-1934); Josephine Dulaska (1934-1942,1947-1962); Florence Kelly (1951-1955) and Salvatrice (Sally) Liota (1955-1969).

Subseries consists of publications about the history of Pier 21 and the SOS contributions to it, correspondence about the SOS work at Pier 21, and memorabilia relating to the opening of the Pier 21 Historic site in 1999.

The Missions Series consists of the correspondence files of the 54 missions established by the Sisters of Service in Canada and two international missions since 1922 until 2012 when the Sponsorship Agreement with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto was signed.

The Institute of the Sisters of Service was founded to be a presence from the ports to the homesteads in an attempt to heighten the awareness of the large number of European immigrants of the English-speaking Canadian Roman Catholic Church. Through the apostolates of immigration, rural education, religious education, women’s residences and rural health care, the sisters assisted those in need across Canada. From 1926, and for the next four decades, the Sisters met the immigrant ships at Pier 21 in Halifax, and three other eastern ports welcoming and assisting the newly-arrived at their entry to Canada.

In the Western Canadian missions, the Sisters lived in rural communities to teach in remote public schools, and opened two small hospitals in Central Alberta. In the cities, their women's residences offered short-term accommodation for women and educational workshops in a home-like atmosphere.

Keeping the faith among Catholics, the Sisters taught catechetics on weekends and reached the largest number of children through their religious correspondence schools in Edmonton, Regina and Fargo as a means to instruct Catholic children in their religion. In the summers, all available Sisters visited small communities to teach the faith and prepare the children for the reception of First Communion and Confirmation.

The sisters did not reside in large convents, instead lived in modest accommodation similar to the people in the missions. The missions following the Second Vatican Council reflect the call for renewal to provide service as teachers, pastoral, social and health care workers in locations of the most need, in particular in northern Canada.

The series consists of correspondence, reports and annals/chronicles, which are arranged alphabetically and chronologically. The textual material also contains histories, memorabilia, newsclippings, meeting minutes, and documents pertaining to the specific ministries of each mission.