Pope Francis' prayer to Virgin Mary for protection from coronavirus

DAILY MASS AT ST PATRICK'S 

Please enjoy today’s daily Mass by clicking the link below

https://tom0349.wixsite.com/youthchoir/st-patrick-s-mass

ST JOSEPH, PRAY FOR US

Today 19 March, we celebrate the Feast of St Joseph.  This feast was first observed in the 15th century and, in 1621, Pope Gregory XV extended it to be observed by the whole Church.  The Church also dedicates the entire month of March to St Joseph. 

St Joseph's Statue in St Patrick's Church

This great saint is patron of many things and of many countries, including Canada.  He was chosen as Patron Saint of Canada by the first Recollect Franciscan Missionaries in 1624!  Pope Urban VIII confirmed St Joseph as Canada's Patron in 1637.  On 8th December 1870, Pope Pius IX declared St Joseph "Patron of the Universal Church".

Cardinal Herbert Vaughan founded St Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill.   As Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, when speaking of St Joseph, Spouse of Mary and Foster Father of Jesus, Cardinal Vaughan wrote: "Of old it was said to the needy and suffering people in the kingdom of Egypt: 'Go to Joseph, and do all that he shall say to you.' (Gen. 41:55).  The same is now said by the Sovereign Pontiff to all needy and suffering people in the kingdom of the Church: Go to Joseph.  What was truly said of the first Joseph .......... is verified much more perfectly, even to this day, in the second Joseph."

At this time, as the deadly Coronavirus sweeps the world, we would do very well to turn to St Joseph and sincerely and humbly seek his help for ourselves, our loved ones, and for the whole of suffering humanity.  

ST JOSEPH, PRAY FOR US. 

CLASS OF 1951

It is time for another post and this picture definitely deserves to be that post!  The photo was sent to us by Marina Carew Aita and it is from 1951.  It was obviously a special event because the girls are all wearing tams, etc, which was usual for parades and special occasions.  Although Marina  remembers being on parade, she can't quite remember what the occasion was (a visit by the Queen or Pope perhaps?)  Definitely not the Pope because the only Pope to visit was John Paul II and that was sometime in the 1980s.  So come on, everybody, search your brain and see if you can help us out with this please.

Marina has also been able to supply all the names for the girls in the photo.  That is really helpful and, if you aren't one of them, then perhaps your Mother or Aunt or even your Grandmother, is one of those girls.  Have a look, enjoy the amazing picture, and let us know if you can come up with the event.

Marina and Classmates, 1951

FRONT:  

Shirley Gardner, Joan Fitzgerald, Maureen Molloy, Betty Croke, Mollie Power, Mary Mansfield,

CENTRE:

Maureen Doyle, Eileen Penney, Patricia O'Brien, Patricia Dunne, Marina Carew, Claudine Horan, Helen Antle, Mercedes Hearn, Shirley Fitzpatrick, Nellie Power,

BACK:

Edith Byrne, Patricia Whittle, Eleanor Whelan, Betty Fitzgerald, Betty Kean, Helen Molloy, Maureen Squires, Mary Malone, Shirley Ring

Thank you Marina.  This will take many of us on a great little walk down Memory Lane.  I just love the picture and, hopefully, you will come across some more like this one.

REST IN PEACE HELEN

We have just lost another of our St Patrick's Graduates, Helen Molloy.  Helen was a larger than life character who, over the years, contributed greatly to St Patrick's Parish life.  Who could forget her spirited performances in the St Patrick's Day Plays?  Always so  full of life and fun, just thinking of those plays brings a smile to my face.  

L-R: Tom Price, Mary Gosse, Doreen Healey,
Shannon McAllister, Frank Newman,
HELEN MOLLOY, Joe newman,
Gerry Costello, Mary Downey

I am pleased to post a picture of Helen and some of the other performers who gladdened our Irish hearts with their wonderful performances under the guiding hand of Miss Kathleen Hayes.
https://stpatricksconventschool.blogspot.com/2015/03/happy-st-patricks-day-2015.html

https://www.cauls.ca/obituary/helen-molloy

To the Molloy Family, we extend our sincere sympathy on the loss of your vibrant and well loved family member. 

HAPPY 2020

Because I was unable to blog for quite awhile, I am afraid I will be doing a bit of apologising for the next couple of posts - starting with this one! I am sorry that it is a bit on the late side, but, because I believe good times make good news anytime, I am posting it so that all of us can share in the joy of Christmas and the joy of true friendship.

My very loyal supporter and helper, Joan Reynolds Fogarty, sent us this photo with news of her amazing classmates.  Surely this group must be the most dedicated group of classmates and friends anywhere.  

The friends met on 4 December 2019 at P J Billingtons at Ramada.  Joan described their room as "lovely" and "decked out with Christmas trees, decorations, and a fireplace."  They had the use of this room for three hours, which, said Joan, "made for a relaxing time." 

Christmas Get Together, 2019

The wonderful ladies are:

ROW 1: Kathleen Dobbin Benson, Mary Fitzgerald, Catherine Corbett Stanley,

ROW 2:  Mary Farrell O'Keefe, Joan Ryan Cobb, Patricia Connolly Leonard, Brenda Casey Grouchy, Madeline Adams Thomson, Eleanor Sears Vatcher, Mary Bulger Corcoran, Judy Fitzgerald Squires, 

ROW 3:  Joan Reynolds Fogarty, Betty Fitzgerald Pye,

Thank you Joan.  You are such a great group of friends and an inspiration to  all.  I hope you will be celebrating together for many, many years to come.

Joan sent wishes for a "Happy 2020 to all" and I join her in that wish.  May 2020 be filled with God's blessings for all of us and those we hold dear -  family and friends!

ANNA HAMLYN McCARTHY

I begin the New Year of 2020 with a sad post.  On 9th December 2019 we lost a loved St Patrick's Graduate, Anna Hamlyn McCarthy.  From a large and well respected West End family, Anna Hamlyn grew up on Shaw St and she and her sisters all attended St Patrick's Convent Schools.  

Anna Hamlyn McCarthy

After Graduation, Anna turned her many talents to teaching and for a time, returned to her Alma Mater where she became a popular teacher, loved and respected by pupils and colleagues alike.  Later, the students of St Peter's School had the great benefit of Anna's dedicated and loving instruction.

Anna married Mike McCarthy and they became the parents of a beautiful daughter, Karen, and a fine son, Michael. They and the rest of Anna's family must be feeling her loss deeply and we offer them our heartfelt condolences.  But, like all of us who had the pleasure of knowing Anna, they must also be finding comfort in the joy of having had such a person in their lives.

Rest in peace, Anna Hamlyn McCarthy.

https://www.barretts.ca/obituaries/Anna-Mary-McCarthy?obId=9505601#/obituaryInfo 

HOLY ANGELS, 50s STYLE

This photo, from the mid 1950s, has been posted here before but without names.  I have some of the names now so I am posting the picture again.  If you can help with any of the unnamed girls, I would be delighted to hear from you, mcallistersmith@gmail.com.  

"Holy Angels", after school party, 1950s

To Fr Hanton's right (and not in strict order) we have Anne Whelan, Patsy Stafford, Carol Sceviour, Bridie Colbert.  

Standing behind are Patsy Walsh, Alice Prim, Carol Brothers, Lucy Power, Eileen Maher, Florence Evans (peeping out between Eileen and Alice).

Moving to Fr Lewis it gets a little more jumbled but you just might recognize Alice Hennessey, Valerie McGrath, Bernice or Dorothy Noftall, Diane Hawley, Betty Galivan, Sheila Glynn, Betty Simms, Mary Glynn, Elizabeth Flynn, Brenda Tracey, Beth Anne McAllister and Margaret Morrissey.

Holy Angels was the group that preceded Children of Mary. Sister Immaculata was the leader of that group and, when we were in her Grade 6 class, we were all enrolled in Holy Angels.  

I don't remember what time of the year this party took place but I have vivid memories of the great time we had!  The two young priests, Fr John Hanton and Fr Phil Lewis, provided the entertainment. Fr Lewis was a marvel on the piano and he played all the popular hits of the day.  All that great Rock n Roll Stuff.  We were so innocent and naive in those days!  We were astonished that priests would know all of those songs.  I guess we thought they lived in a bubble or something.  Anyway, we had a wonderful time and Sr Immaculata was hard pressed to make us go home.  It is a rare day indeed when you have to force girls to go home from school!

I am counting on you to come up with a few names for me.  Please help if you can.

YVONNE'S PROUD EVENING

Happy Presentation Day, to all.  On this Presentation Day 2019, I am pleased to bring you this lovely little post.  I think it  will bring back happy memories of our small, but important, share of Presentation life. 

Venerable Nano Nagle

I have to thank Yvonne Dionne for the memories and photos. The photos and reminiscences are so nice to receive and they certainly reawaken half forgotten memories of our younger selves.

Yvonne writes:

"While at St. Patrick’s, around grade 5, age 10, in 1971, I joined the Girl Guides. The investiture was held in the school gym. My patrol leader, standing behind me, was Ellen Walsh."

Little Yvonne, A Proud Girl Guide

Thanks Yvonne.  This is a sweet little look back at life at dear old St Patrick's.  If anyone has photos, stories, or memories they would like to share, please just send them along to  us  at mcallistersmith@gmail.com.  It would be a pleasure to post them.  I have a bit of a backlog at present but I am working my way through it and I am slowly catching up.  Please keep the news coming!

A momentous night

"AMAZING" ANTECEDENTS TOO

It is possible that I overuse the word "amazing" when speaking of St Patrick's people but, as I am sure you will agree, they truly are amazing, each and every one of them!  Marina Carew Aita and her sisters are all graduates of St Patrick's Convent Schools.  The story that Marina shares with us shows that St Patrick's people have some "amazing" (oops, sorry, that word again) antecedents too.  With regard to the City of St John's, I feel this is also an historically important snippet.  

St Patrick's Convent and the City of St John's Crests

Read and enjoy - and maybe help Marina along the way. Marina is hoping that someone, perhaps a City Councillor or a B I S Member, might pick up on this and be able to help her locate a photograph of her relative.  Anyway, here is Marina's interesting story.

“My great grandfather John Carew operated a funeral parlour located on Carew St. His son John, my g/uncle, was a St. John’s City Councillor at the time. According to The Daily News of Sept. 4, 1909, an issue being debated in Council on September 3, 1909 concerned a communication from some Chinese people requesting permission to exhume the body of a Chinese man who died some eight years previously. Their idea was to send it to China. In the interest of public health safety, John was opposed to the request and during the heated debate he suddenly suffered a massive heart attack and died instantly in the City Chamber.

My reason for posting this article is that I could never find a photo of my g/uncle John to add to our family tree, and thought perhaps some of your readers might be of help.  As well as a City Councillor, John was a lifetime member of B.I.S. and I believe I recall reading posts on your blog from members of both organizations. Perhaps they might have access to photos as I understand their archives are in the process of being updated.“

What a fascinating, if tragic, story.  Marina's great Uncle John Carew must have been a man of strong character and firm convictions.  I love this story and I hope someone will be able to help Marina in her search for a photo of her Uncle John.

Thanks Marina for sharing this with us.  Any family stories, no matter how old or how recent, are welcome if they have any connection to our School or Parish.  If you would like to share a tale with us, send it to mcallistersmith@gmail.com.

FROM JANE ANNING ADAMS

Jane Anning Adams posted this message on the St Patrick's Facebook page.  I am posting it here on St Patrick's Convent School Blog in the hope that some of Jane's former classmates will see it and get in touch with her.  Perhaps someone will remember Jane's mother, Joan Ryan, and aunt, Marilyn Ryan.  They too are St Patrick's girls and they lived on Patrick St.  Good luck Jane, I hope you get some good results.  

SCHOOL DAYS - RUBBER BAG DAYS!

Jane wrote:

"I just discovered this group and it brought back many memories. I attended St. Patrick's for only a short time - about January 1968 to June 1968. I was in Ms. Hennessy's grade 2 class (hopefully I got the name right). My mom and siblings were visiting from Saskatchewan for a few months and we stayed with my grandparents on Patrick Street. My mother Joan Ryan attended St. Patrick's when she was young (c.1942 - 1953) and my aunt Marilyn Ryan also attended the school (c. 1958 - 1969). My mom is now living in Cambridge, Ontario and unfortunately has Alzheimer's. She still mentions the teachers and her piano lessons at the school. If anyone remembers my mom (or me) I'd love to hear from you. I will pass along any messages to her."

A TREASURE FROM 1942

Does anyone know why a post suddenly goes missing from a Blog?  On 24th May 2015, I posted this great picture of Holy Cross Confirmation Class, circa 1942/43.  Very few of the boys were identified so, sometime later, I was delighted to be contacted by Ray Simms with some wonderful information.  Ray is one of the boys on this photo and he was able to identify just about all the boys pictured. On 15th May 2017 I re-posted the photo again with the new information.  Then I added the  link for the Blog Post to our facebook page.  Now for the mystery!

Several months ago, Ray's son, Danny, contacted me saying that he was unable to find the new post with the names, although there was a link for it.  The photo and a link back to the Blog Post is definitely in the Holy Cross Album on our facebook but, strangely, the link leads back to a page that tells us it does not exist.  Mystery or what?

Holy Cross Confirmation Class 1942

This picture is a real treasure and to have most of the names is an added bonus so I am re-posting the photo with all the names supplied by Ray. 

Back Row: J Hickey, E Parsley, B Fanning, J Whelan, R McGrath, F Kavanagh, F Gough, R Simms

Row 3:  C Ennis, P Miller, R Kavanagh, D Baird, T Brewer, J McAllister, R Whelan, B Parrell, C Carew, Br Drayton

Row 2:  B English, J St George, J Greene, C Penney, B Whittle, A Fitzgerald, D Molloy, B Kielly, L Hickey, C McKay

Front Row:  J O'Brien, ??, P Murphy, J Cleary, B Evans, J Barron, R Morrissey, J Baird, C Baird, J Walsh, P Roynayne

I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed that this post will 'stay put' both here and on our facebook page!

Once again, my thanks to Ray Simms and to his son Danny.  Keep well, Ray, and please keep in touch.

SEPTEMBER GET TOGETHER

I am so pleased to know that Joan Reynolds Fogarty and her amazing classmates are still celebrating friendship.  Joan sent this picture of the girls at their September get together at P J Billingtons.  Joan said this meeting was especially memorable because, for the very first time, Yvonne Stephenson Meissner and Mary Farrell O'Keefe attended.  Mary lives in Pouch Cove and Yvonne lives a little farther afield, in Claremont, Ontario.

That amazing Group of Friends

The ladies are:

Front: Yvonne Stephenson Meissner, Patricia Connolly Leonard, Eleanor Sears Vatcher

Row 2:  Brenda Casey Grouchy, Mary Fitzgerald, Mary Farrell O'Keefe, Joan Reynolds Fogarty, Joan Connolly Alston, Mary Bulger Corcoran, Catherine Corbett Stanley, Madeline Thomson Adams

Row 3:  Rosemary Ashley Healy, Judy Fitzgerald Squires, Kathleen Dobbin Benson

The classmates meet for their Christmas bash on 4th December and we look forward to hearing all about that too.

Thanks Joan for keeping us up to date on your activities.  You must be the closest, most loyal, group of school friends anywhere.  St Patrick's Convent and West End values, perhaps?  God bless you wonderful women and may you enjoy many more happy reunions.

-------------------------------

I am sorry to have to add a sad note to this otherwise happy post.  Joan has just informed me that one of the faithful band of friends, Betty Fitzgerald Pye, has just lost her beloved husband, Reg.
https://www.barretts.ca/obituaries/Reginald-Stephen-Pye?  Sincere sympathy to Betty and family and to all who grieve for the loss of Reg.

22nd ANNUAL HOLY CROSS DINNER

Mike Power has sent us an email informing us of another of those wonderful Holy Cross Dinners.  Here is Mike's email.

"Tickets for the 22nd Annual Holy Cross Reunion and Dinner held at the Knights of Columbus on Sept. 12th, will be available Monday August 5th at Twin Cities Imaging, 6 Campbell Ave, Mon. to Fri. 8:30-4:30 and Gingersnap, 803 Water St., Tues.-Wed.-10-5, Thurs.-Fri.-10-6, Sat.-10-5, Sun.-12-4. Tickets are $35.00 and include a Travel Mug with the Holy Cross colors and insignia. Meet and Greet is from 6:00-7:30 and the Dinner is at 7:30. There also will be extra Travel Mugs and Holy Cross Books for sale and a 50/50 draw. This year being the 50th anniversary of the School fire on Patrick St., this years guest speaker will be retired Fireman Robert Corbett who fought the fire, speaking on this topic. The mic then be left open for a short while as we would like to encourage ex pupils in attendance to say a few words about their experience in the school and getting out during this fire." 

AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS

I think friendship is undefinable but it is  definitely a thing of beauty and a gift to be treasured. It is evident that St Patrick's girls certainly know the value of friendship because they just keep reconnecting with their school friends and the years always seem to melt away.

Some wise words from Charlie Brown

I have had news of another recent get together.  On 5th June 2019, a sizable number turned up at Bally Haly on Logy Bay Road.  This group of friends had graduated from St Patrick's in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  From all reports, it is apparent that a wonderful time was had by all.  We are delighted that Betty Simms and Pat Hurley McDonald have very kindly sent along some pictures of the happy gathering.

Thank you, Pat and Betty, for the pictures and the information.  I don't know if it is true, but I heard a little whisper that there is a BIG 60th reunion in the pipeline for next year.  If you graduated from St Patrick's in 1960, keep your eyes and ears open for news of a reunion.  Be sure to make a big effort to attend - even if you have to trek from far off places like Alberta, Florida, Wales, or anywhere else on planet earth!  If that reunion materializes, it will be well worth attending.

Still close friends

Catching up on the news

Still smiling and looking great!

So great to see you!

Some serious chatting going down here!

Pat and Jackie share some news

I'd rather chat than eat!

Well, Hello!

THE YEARS ROLLED AWAY

Christine Butler has sent us news of their 41 year class reunion,  held on 9th June 2019.

The Friends

One very talented classmate and friend, Janice Fagan, wrote a touching poem for the occasion.

'Friendship' summed up beautifully by Janice

Christine said: "The Big Day was awesome!  We had a great reunion!"

Christine, thank you for sharing this wonderful celebration of enduring friendship.  Please keep us up to date with any news of yourself and your classmates and school friends.  

Keeping St Patrick's people in touch is magic so let's do our best to help the magic continue!  As Janice said: 

"Our lives may have led us in different directions

But ST PATRICK'S will always remain our connection."