A MIND BLOWER, FOR SURE!

I was given this photo a few years ago and it is definitely time I posted it.  The quality of the photo is very poor but I think most people on it are recognizable.  I have not been given any date for it but I think it would be around mid 1950s.  I also think it is Sr Columba's grade 4 or 5 class.  I have most of the names.  Perhaps you could fill in the blanks for me. If you click on the photo, it should enlarge for you.

Do you know anyone in this picture?

1. ?
2. ?
3. Bernice or Dorothy Noftall
4. ?
5. Rita Hickey
6. Marina Grace
7. Patsy Noseworthy
8. Bridie Vavasour
9. Jeanie Albert
10. Dorothy Levine
11. ?
12. Diane Edison
13. Cynthia Reddy
14. Elaine Morris
15. Marlene Morris
16. Margaret Power
17. Mary Johnson
18. Valerie McGrath
19. Elizabeth Flynn
20. ?
21. Barbara Sharpe
22. ?
23. ?
24. ?
25. Carmel Fitzgerald
26. Mary Whelan
27. ?
28. Norma Williams
29. Marie Furey
30. ?
31. ?
32. ?
33. ?

ST PATRICK'S CHURCH STAINED GLASS

St Patrick's Church has some beautiful stained glass windows. Some of the windows date from 1881.  In my opinion, these are the most beautiful.  That is just my opinion and I am not an expert but I know what I like.  I expect a lot of people would hold a different view and that is ok. 

The newer windows were installed in the mid 1960s.  They depict various biblical scenes.  Of these more modern windows, this is my favourite.  It depicts events in the life of Mary and, of course,  salvation history.

Stained Glass windows, mid 1960s,
by McNichols and Williams of Toronto

The original windows were installed in 1881 and their beauty still inspires. Just two of the original windows are shown here.  They are in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and show the Assumption of Mary and St Joseph with the Child Jesus.

Original windows installed in 1881

The most lovely of all St Patrick's stained glass windows are located in the sanctuary, above the altar. These windows were installed in 1881 and reflect our Irish heritage.  St Patrick holds the center position and he is flanked on either side by St Columba and St Brigid, the Patron Saints of Ireland. When the sun shines through these magnificent windows, their brilliant colours dance across the floor and lift the heart.

The two pictures which follow were taken quite some years apart.  The one with the crucifix was taken in 2003 and the other about 2013.  The statue of the Risen Christ was placed there in memory of longtime parishioner and tireless supporter, the late Mike Walsh.

Original Sanctuary windows, 1881

The Patron Saints of Ireland, 1881

There are many other wonderful stained glass windows in St Patrick's Church so if I were you, I would have a good look around this beloved Church while you can.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

👉👉This is the link for St Patrick's Parish site. Why not have a browse and see what is happening there. 

http://stpatrickschurch.ca/2.0/#masstime

There is also plenty of news on St Patrick's Parish Facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/stpatsnl

Easter Message from the CLT

This little video brings us the Easter message and reminds us of the hope and new life that Easter brings. At this very difficult time in our Archdiocese, I feel it speaks especially to us. 

  

Believe the message.

 It is for all of us. 

HAPPY EASTER. 

 

A NICE 'BLAST FROM THE PAST'

This great photo was sent to me by Joan Fitzgerald Ebsary quite some time ago.  Joan sent it to our Facebook messenger and, for more than a year, I was unable to access Messenger.  So, this photo languished  there until last night when, thanks to Sean, I was able to get into messenger.  

Here is Joan's photo. It is Grade 6, 1961.  I notice the old S P C Crest on the uniforms.  I love it!  Perhaps Joan or a classmate could tell us a little more about the photo.  It might not be a good idea to risk messaging me on Facebook, just in case it decides to lock me out again. Instead, it would be safer to  send anything to me at the Blog contact address,  mcallistersmith@gmail.com.

S P C, GRADE 6, 1961

Thank you very much Joan for this nice 'Blast from the Past'.  I am most sorry for the long delay.  

AND THIS?

Today's post continues to look at some of the things that could be lost in our present predicament. As today is Good Friday, and we have previously looked at our Redemptorist Mission Cross, we will have a look at the Pieta.

The original Pieta ("the Piety") is a Renaissance sculpture executed by  Michelangelo Buonarroti about 1498/99.  It was sculpted from a block of Carrara marble and Michelangelo said it was the finest block he had ever seen.  It is the only piece of his work that the artist has ever signed.  Through the centuries many versions of this work have appeared and many Catholic Churches have a version based on Michelangelo's. The original Pieta is housed in St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, and is estimated to be worth an eye-popping $300 million today!

Now to our own, not quite so exalted but still beautiful and very loved, Pieta.

The beautiful Pieta in St Patrick's Church

I am pretty certain that there was a version of the Pieta in St Patrick's Church when I was a child.  That Pieta wasn't coloured.  Do any of you 'more mature' folks remember that or am I "misremembering"? (I have never used that word before but I believe I heard a certain P M use it recently.  I like to keep up with newspeak!) According to the leaflet, 'St Patrick's Church', Katrina McAllister and Karen Morrissey, 1996, the present Pieta was installed in the church in 1992. The base of a pulpit supports it.

This Pieta is vividly coloured and is very beautiful. It is inspiring, very touching, and is a point of  deep respect and devotion for so many parishioners.  Pray God we don't lose it.  

A close up of the Pieta in St Patrick's Church

It has been said that in his Pieta,  Michelangelo's intention was  not to focus on death but on acceptance.  Let's continue to work and pray for our beloved Church and Parish but, perhaps we should also pray for acceptance of whatever God has in mind for the Catholic Church in Newfoundland.

BEAUTY AND HOPE

I have just received this photo from my nephew, Craig.  It was taken by Kimberly Rose. I think the photo is proof that beauty, like hope, grows in the most unlikely places. 

Beauty and hope can flourish in unlikely places

There is always hope!

👉Thanks to Kimberly and Craig for this beautiful picture.

AND THIS TOO!

In previous posts I have tried to remind us of what we have, what we take for granted, and what we could lose. In this little post I will highlight the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar and remind us of its origins.  Many of us spent our childhood looking at it but, as is often the case with the familiar, not actually seeing it!

In the following picture, we see the sanctuary of St Patrick's Church with the original altar.  This is the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar, installed in 1881. Bishop John Thomas Mullock, who died in 1869, was keen to forge ahead with the completion of St Patrick's Church and he worked tirelessly towards that goal. 

The original Altar, St Patrick's Church

The Gothic Style altar is constructed of Carrara marble.  The Paschal Lamb is depicted in the central panel.  To the left the Papal Keys are represented and to the right the Cross surmounted with the Crown of Thorns.

During church renovations in the early 1990s, the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar was relocated to its present location, where the Blessed Sacrament is kept.

St Patrick's original altar,
the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar,
installed in 1881

Look at it.  It is too beautiful for words.

👉I have found some of the information about the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar in the leaflet 'St Patrick's Church' by Katrina McAllister and Karen Morrissey, 1996👈

WHAT WE COULD LOSE!

The Redemptorist Mission Cross was erected at St Patrick's Church in December 1882.  It was originally placed at the front of the church, at the left side of the altar.  It has been repositioned to the back of the church, at the main entrance.  This cross is beloved of parishioners and is an important symbol of devotion.

THE REDEMPTORIST MISSION CROSS

Will we lose this piece of our parish and faith history?

TO READ MORE ABOUT THE MISSION CROSS, FOLLOW THIS LINK. 

https://stpatricksconventschool.blogspot.com/2017/03/redemptorist-mission-cross-st-patricks.html

HORRIFYING POSSIBILITIES

In the previous post I mentioned  the Fishermen's Hall on Queen St and people were surprised when they saw the photo of the building as it is today.  So, I thought I might post a little bit about the amazing history of this historic building. It certainly has had an interesting life!

FORMER ST PETER'S CATHOLIC CHAPEL, 1873-1883

Erected in 1861, Fishermen's Hall at 16 Queen Street is the oldest theatre in St John's.  Surprisingly, it is also the second oldest Catholic Church in St John's.  The cornerstone was laid on 23 May 1861 and Fishermen's Hall opened a mere five months later, on 28 October 1861.

Fishermen's Hall was the venue for many and varied entertainments, including visiting trapeze artists, Flower Shows, musicians, shows, and plays by visiting dramatic troupes. 

On 28 February 1871, a meeting took place at Fisherman's Hall.  Captain William Jackman and several other prominent citizens met together and The Star of the Sea Society was founded and formally instituted.

In 1873 Bishop Power purchased the building.  Internal renovations converted the single story building to a two story one.  The upstairs was consecrated as St Peter's Chapel while the ground floor became a school.  Four Sisters of Mercy came every day from Mercy Convent, Military Road, to teach the boys and girls.

(Picture taken from the Centenary Souvenir Book, 1955)

When St Patrick's Church opened in 1881 there was less need for St Peter's Chapel so, in 1883, it ceased to be a church.  The former chapel was utilized by the good Sisters as part of the school.  The girls' school now occupied the upper floor and the boys' school the floor below.  The R C School Board reported in 1882 that the school had 4 teachers and 360 pupils!  Eventually, two ladies, Miss Maher and Miss Nugent, were employed to assist the Sisters at St Peter's School.

The Sisters of Mercy operated St Peter's School until 1903. In 1903 the building became the commercial premises of Frank McNamara.  In 1967 it was taken over by J B Hand & Sons who occupied the building for a number of years. After J B Hand, 16 Queen St was home to several more enterprises.  You will find the plaque pictured below informative, I have no doubt.

Sign on side of building at 16 Queen St

Now, I am thinking about the churches that are being sold to pay off a debt they didn't personally incur. In particular, I am thinking of St Patrick's. I can't help wondering what fate awaits this venerable and well loved church. What indignities will be visited upon it in the years ahead? The possibilities are too horrifying to contemplate.

St Patrick's Church in 1991 (The Deanery Avenue School is partly visible behind the Deanery)

*Some of the information about St Peter's Church and School was found in the two excellent books;

'The Oldest City', Paul O'Neil

'Weavers of the Tapestry', Sr Kathrine Bellamy R S M

WHAT THEY DID! WHAT CAN WE DO?

By now you are all aware that our beautiful, historic, St Patrick's Church is under threat and (too horrible to contemplate) might have to be sold! To save this beautiful Parish Church which has been the spiritual home of so many of us, much help and inspiration is needed. What can we do? 

ST PATRICK'S CHURCH

Have a look at some of the things our tenacious ancestors did to bring the dream of St Patrick's to fruition.

On 8 February 1864, it was reported in 'The Newfoundlander' "The people of the city had made a beginning to the vast amount of work necessary by hauling the stone needed for the foundations of the church." 

"During the last week the Catholic people of this place have been employed every day in large numbers bringing stone from various neighboring quarries for the new stone church about to be erected at St Patrick's, Riverhead.  Some of the blocks of stone were of colossal size, weighing many tons each, hundreds of men being engaged in drawing them to their destination. The people, as usual, were full of zeal and energy and a work so begun cannot fail of being successfully carried out in a short period." 

Bishop Mullock was impressed, finding the enthusiasm of the people "most extraordinary".

"A portion of the large amount of money required for the construction was raised in a Grand Bazaar in aid of St Patrick's held in the upper room of Fishermen's Hall on Queen Street."  Having paid their admission of 15 pence, patrons were treated to music provided by various bands of the day, a sale of work, and a Grand Lottery.  The Bazaar was quite a success and raised the sum of £1354, a staggering amount in those days.

FORMER FISHERMEN'S HALL

On 14 August 1864, Bishop Mullock "called on the people of St John's area to fish for St Patrick's Church tomorrow". The Bishop even put on a special Mass in the Cathedral at 4 a m "for the people going to fish".  

The following year, 1865, the good Bishop once again announced that the day's fishery for the church on 15 August, both in St John's and on the Labrador, would be applied to St Patrick's.  He also announced that he intended to introduce a penny a week collection as a means of support.  We certainly owe Bishop John Thomas Mullock our thanks.  He was indeed a determined champion of St Patrick's Church.

I have no proof of it, but I feel sure that while all this activity was going on, there was also much prayer being sent up to heaven for the success of the venture.  If we can do nothing else, maybe we too could do a spot of praying.  St Joseph is a wonderful Saint to turn to in any situation but, since he is the Patron of the Universal Church, he would be the ideal saint to come to our help now.

STATUE OF ST JOSEPH IN
ST PATRICK'S CHURCH

ST JOSEPH PRAY FOR US

Quotes are from the book, 

St Patrick's Church, One Hundred Years,

1881 - 1981

A VIDEO TOUR OF ST PATRICK'S CHURCH

 TOUR OF  ST PATRICK'S CHURCH.

I FOUND THIS ON YOUTUBE AND I THOUGHT YOU WOULD ENJOY THIS TOUR OF OUR BEAUTIFUL ST PATRICK'S CHURCH.  

OUR CHURCH- DON'T GIVE UP HOPE!

Once upon a time, a school stood here.  This was St Patrick's Convent School, erected in 1921 as a Memorial to the men and boys of the parish who lost their lives in WWI.  Now it is gone.

Site of St Patrick's Convent School, Deanery Avenue

This is our church, erected by the free labour, hard work and pennies of our ancestors. Through generations this church has been maintained by the free labour, hard work and pennies of their children and of their children's children.  We must not lose this beautiful, historic church.

Our beautiful St Patrick's Church

This plaque was at the back of our church.  It encourages us to look to the future with hope.  Let's do what we can to save our church, trust in God, and never lose hope.

Plaque at the back of St Patrick's Church

ST PATRICK, PRAY FOR US.

CAPTAIN WILLIAM JACKMAN

Renews, on the beautiful Southern Shore, was the birthplace of William Jackman.  William, born on 20 May 1837, was the eldest of the four children of Captain Thomas Jackman and Catherine Johnson.  At an early age, William, like his father before him, went to sea.

Birthplace of Captain William Jackman, Renews

About 1858, when William was 21, he married Trepassey native, Bridget Burbridge.  William and Bridget had six children, four sons and two daughters.  One son, William Henry, became a priest. Fr Jackman died on 16 July 1908 at the age of 44 years.  At the time of his death, Fr Jackman was serving in St Patrick's Parish.

October 1867 found the 30 year old William Jackman, by now Captain, at Spotted Islands on the coast of Labrador. That October night, a fierce gale was raging and Captain Jackman and some friends were on the Headland looking out to sea. Different accounts of this story give differing reasons for Captain Jackman's presence on the Headland at that time but it was certainly fortuitous, whatever the reason. 

Looking out to sea Jackman saw that a small schooner was being battered on the rocks by the raging gales.  Captain Jackman was a vigorous man and, luckily, a strong swimmer.  He immediately stripped off most off his clothes and dived into the maelstrom.  His companions raced back to the community for ropes to aid in the rescue.  Reaching the stricken boat, William took a man on his back and swam to shore  with him.  Again he plunged into the icy waters and swam back to the vessel.  By the time his fellow rescuers returned with ropes, Captain Jackman had already rescued eleven men in this manner.  They then tied a rope around his waist and, with the men on shore helping by pulling the ropes, the brave Captain battled his way through the treacherous waves to rescue fifteen more men.  He had saved the lives of twenty-six men but, upon being told that there was a dying woman still on board in the cabin, William Jackman struck out once again for the battered ship.  He brought the ailing woman safely to shore.  The woman, said to be one Myra Batten, did not live long and died a day or two later. The whole rescue operation took just over two hours and the schooner, named either the 'Sea Clipper' or 'Sea Slipper', broke up about an hour after that.

Captain William Jackman, 1837-1877

In 1868, Captain Jackman and his fellow rescuers were awarded medals by the Royal Humane Society. Jackman received a silver medal and a diploma and his companions received bronze medals.

William Jackman was a founder member of the Star of the Sea, a social organization for Roman Catholic seamen, which was founded in 1871. Heroic Captain William Jackman passed away in St John's on 25 February 1877. On 28 February, his funeral was conducted at  St Patrick's Church. The church was still unfinished but Captain Jackman's funeral was immense. He was laid to rest at Belvedere Cemetery, St John's.  Captain William Jackman was just 39 years old.

I return now to William's father, Captain Thomas Jackman and to a direct link to St Patrick's Convent.

Thomas Jackman's wife, Catherine Johnson, died and Thomas eventually took another wife, **Catherine White.  Catherine White was born in County Wexford, Ireland circa 1820/21. 

On 19 July, 1870, Captain Thomas Jackman passed away at his home on Brine Street. Two years later, on 1 August 1872, his widow, Catherine White Jackman, entered the Presentation Congregation at St Patrick's Convent.  She was received on 1 August 1873 when she was 52 years old and received the name of Sr Mary Monica.

Sr Monica Jackman spent the whole of her religious life at St Patrick's Convent.  On 4 September 1897, two Wexford newspapers carried short articles about Sr Monica. Both the 'Enniscorthy Guardian' and the 'New Ross Standard' reported that "a day of great rejoicing had taken place at the Presentation Convent of St Patrick's, Newfoundland", as Sr M Monica Jackman celebrated her Silver Jubilee.  Catherine White/Sr Monica Jackman had not been forgotten in her native County Wexford.

Captain William Jackman's stepmother, Sr Monica, passed away at St Patrick's on 27 December 1899.  She was laid to rest in the Nuns Cemetery behind the Convent.

Captain William Jackman's stepmother, Sr Monica Jackman

**I owe this interesting little snippet about Catherine White Jackman/Sr M Monica, to the lovely little book, "KEEPING THE BOND ALIVE, SHARING THE MEMORIES", Renews-Cappahayden Come Home Year 2008.

FEAST OF ST JOSEPH

St Joseph is the Patron Saint of many things including the Patron Saint of the Universal Church and the Patron Saint of Canada.  He is a saint to whom we should often have recourse but especially today, his Feast Day.  

St Joseph, Patron Saint of Canada

ST JOSEPH, PRAY FOR US.

ST PATRICK'S SISTERS 1995/96

I came across this photo in an old book from 1996. The Sisters were all resident at St Patrick's Convent at that time.  I recognize just one of the Sisters.  The Sister standing at the front, far right, is Sr Agnes Sesk, formerly known as Sr M Olivette.  

Sisters at St Patrick's Convent, 1995/96 (click the photo to enlarge)

Sr Agnes was a renowned music teacher, guiding many Kiwanis Music Festival winners. In May 2002, the Kiwanis Hall of Honour came into being.  There were three categories of membership.  Sr Agnes Sesk was one of the first inductees into the Kiwanis Hall of Honour.  That year, Sr Agnes Sesk PBVM, Andreas Barban, and Sr Katherine Bellamy RSM, were celebrated in the music category.

Sr Agnes passed away on 18 March 2008 at the age of 89 years.  She was laid to rest in the Presentation Cemetery at the Motherhouse.  

I have just heard from Heather that the Sister at the far left of the picture is Sr Charles.  Not sure of her surname but it is possibly Sr Charles Murphy, who passed away on 18 August 2006.  Thank you, Heather.  Every bit of information is helpful.

I would be very grateful if anyone can enlighten us as to the identity of any of the other Sisters here. You can contact me at mcallistersmith@gmail.com.