Before we close the book on the centenary of the Armistice, there is one more story I think worth telling. It is worth the telling because, believe it or not, there is a link between one of the chief negotiators of the Armistice, Marshall Ferdinand Foch, and one of our Presentation Sisters. In the closing months of WWI, Foch became Supreme Commander of Allied Forces. The Armistice was signed by Germany and the Allies at 5 am on 11 November 1918, in the forest of Compiègne, France. It was to come into effect at 11 am on that day. The terms of the Armistice were largely written by Marshall Foch. To trace that little link we must go back to 1854.
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The signing of the Armistice.
Marshall Foch is second right (cane and briefcase)
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Fr Thomas Waldron was a relative of Sr M Clare Waldron, first Superior of St Patrick’s Convent. Fr Waldron died of cholera in 1854 and in his will he left a large parcel of land on Lemarchant Road to the Presentation Convent in St John’s. He also left them “two cows belonging to me at Kings Cove”. Eventually, the Sisters sold a piece of the land to the Honourable E M Jackman who built for himself an imposing house on his newly acquired land. He named it ‘The White House’. (It is on the corner of Lemarchant Rd and St Clare Avenue, opposite the top of Patrick St.)
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| "The White House" |
John and Margaret English lived on Water Street. They had a daughter named Mary Theresa and she had a good friend, Miss Summers, who often visited her at home. Miss Summers and a border at the house, John Funichon, fell in love. In 1888 Mary Theresa entered the Presentation Convent and was given the name of Sr Mary Clare. For many years Sr M Clare desired to open a hostel for young women from outside St John’s who were working in the City. To this end Sr Clare patiently set about raising funds through sales of handiwork, school concerts, etc. Donations were also forthcoming from her friends.
During the Gold Rush John Funichon had gone to the Klondike where he struck it rich. He returned to St John’s to marry Miss Summers and the newlyweds visited their dear friend, Sr Clare, at Presentation Convent. Mr Funichon presented Sr Clare with the gift of a rosary made up of forty gold nuggets. Sr Clare, realising its potential as a giant step to achieving her cherished goal, was overjoyed with this gift. When John H Reddin, Supreme Master of the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, was in St John’s Sr Clare asked him to find a buyer for the rosary, which she was willing to sell for $100. The following year the Supreme Knight, James A Flaherty came to St John’s. He visited Sr Clare and told her that the Knights of Columbus wished to purchase her golden rosary to give as a gift to Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee. Sr Clare must have been ecstatic when Mr Flaherty presented her with a cheque, not for $100 but for the enormous sum of $1,000. With this and the money she had raised from her other fund raising efforts, Sr Clare was now able to take concrete steps towards fulfilling her dream. She began by purchasing another piece of land adjoining the Waldron Farm and the White House. Then her plans were thwarted.
Archbishop Howley summoned Sr Clare to a private meeting in the Convent parlour. Did His Grace order Sr Clare to turn over her dearly held project to the Sisters of Mercy? Who knows? In any case, it was a dejected Sister Clare who returned to her room and told her secretary to “Send it all to the Mercy Order”. The baffled secretary was told that it was the Archbishop’s wish so she must obey.
The Bishop added to the hard earned money of Sr M Clare, purchased ‘The White House’ from E M Jackman, and had it renovated. On 29th September 1913 it was opened as a home for working girls. The Mercy Sisters, ever gracious, named the home ‘St Clare’s’ in honour of Sr Mary Clare English who had conceived the idea and worked so untiringly to make it a reality.
Archbishop Howley died in October 1914 and his successor was Edward Patrick Roche. Archbishop Roche was convinced that St John’s should have a Catholic Hospital and that St Clare’s Home was the ideal site. Several Sisters of Mercy were sent away to train for this new undertaking. On 21st May 1922, in a ceremony attended by the Mercy and Presentation Sisters, Archbishop Roche dedicated the building as St Clare’s Mercy Hospital. Over the years, St Clare’s Hospital has grown and it and the Sisters of Mercy have served Newfoundland admirably.
Sadly, Sr Mary Clare English never knew of the honour the kindly Sisters of Mercy had bestowed on her because she died shortly after her history changing meeting with Archbishop Howley. Sr Clare passed away on 11 July 1912 at the age of 46 years.
What of Sr Clare’s golden rosary? In October 1911, the Knights of Columbus presented the rosary of gold nuggets to James Cardinal Gibbons in honour of his fifty years of priesthood.
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| Golden Rosary presented to Cardinal Gibbons |
Cardinal Gibbons died, aged 87, at Baltimore on 24th March 1921.
In November 1921 Marshall Ferdinand Foch toured the United States. The tour was at the invitation of the Knights of Columbus. On 6th November the Knights held a banquet for the distinguished visitor. Honorary membership of the Knights of Columbus was conferred on their guest and, as a token of their esteem, he was given a very special gift. The rosary of gold nuggets, originally owned by Sr Mary Clare English PBVM, was presented to Marshall Foch by Supreme Knight James A Flaherty.
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| Sr M Clare's Golden Rosary goes to Marshall Foch |
What would Sr Clare have thought of it all? Her rosary had indeed moved among distinguished personages and travelled far. Where is Sr Clare’s Golden Rosary now?
