Full Description
This book traces the journey taken by the Canadian Province of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions / Religieuses de Notre Dame des Missions (RNDM), from its establishment in Manitoba in 1898 to 2008, when the congregation as a whole redefined its mission and vision. Using archival research conducted in Canada, England, and Italy and incorporating oral interviews with RNDM sisters, this book explores the historical work of the sisters in schools and the part they played in the developing educational state.
The congregation's activities in schools, first in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and later in Ontario and Quebec, show how the sisters' educational work related to the social characteristics of the communities they worked in (e.g., those of French Canadian settlers, British and continental European immigrants, and the Métis population). The Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions examines the impact of Vatican II in the 1960s and into the 2000s as well as the dismantling of neo-scholasticism and the process of secularization of consciousness in society at large. These emerging issues led the congregation to examine its individual and collective identity at the intersection of feminist theology, eco-spirituality, and a critique of Western cosmology.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Coming to Life at the Intersection of Ultramontanism and Colonialism
Part One. Contextualizing the Vision of the Foundress
1. Who Were the RNDMs? Arrival in Canada (1898) and Transnational Ethos
2. Foundational Thoughts on Education and the Interplay of Locality, Congregational Structure, and Church Teachings
Part Two. Educational Apostolate in Time and Space: The Schools in Canada
3. Manitoba in the Early Years: Building a French-Canadian Identity with the RNDM Foundations
4. English-Speaking Communities, Immigrants, and the Quest for Social Recognition in Manitoba
5. The RNDM in Saskatchewan: Residential, Parish, Separate, and Private Schools for Girls
6. The Dusty Years to the Post-War Years
7. The Church and the Classroom before Vatican II: Spirituality in the Schools and Recruitment
8. The 1960s: Changing Context and New Experiences
Part Three. The Reception of Vatican II: Epistemic Shifts and Visionary Changes
9. The Setting That Framed the Reception of Vatican II
10. Resignifying Vision and Mission: The 1990s and 2000s, and the Movement towards Eco-Spirituality
Part Four. The Province Engages in a Foreign Mission
11. The Mission in Peru
Conclusion: Coming Full Circle
Appendix A. Making Sense of Memories: Conversation among Former Provincials - A Literal Transcription
Appendix B. Religieuses de Notre Dame des Missions (RNDM) Sisters' Houses in Canada
Notes
Index
