the canadian catholic historical association

BULLETINThe Canadian Catholic Historical Association

Spring 2004 ISSN 1182-9214 Volume XVIII, No. 1

Canadian Catholic HistoricalConference30-31 May 2004

University of ManitobaSt Paul’s College, Room 258

Winnipeg MB

Sunday, 30 May 2004

8:45 am: Welcome and Opening RemarksJohn Fitzgerald, Pres. CCHA

9:00 am - 10:30 am: Writing the History ofCanadian Women Religious:Methodological and Theoretical Issues

Heidi MacDonald, University of LethbridgeEnumerating Women Religious in the Census of

Canada

Elizabeth McGahan, University of NewBrunswick

Community Membership and ChangingMissions: Writing the History ofTransition from Religious to Lay

Control in a Canadian City – TheCase of The Sisters of Charity ofthe Immaculate Conception

Elizabeth Smyth, OISE/UT, University ofToronto

Writing the History of a Founder: CatherineMcKinley and the Sisters ofProvidence of St Vincent de Paulof Kingston, Ontario

10:30 am– 10:45 am Nutrition Break

10:45 am-12 pm: Biographical Studies onReligious

Paul Laverdure, Editor, Redemptorist Historical North American Bulletin

The Champlain Society’s Petitot Project: Emile Petitot, OMI 1838-1917

Margaret MacDonell CND, Antigonish NSJeanne Leber, A Recluse Amidst Strife:

Vocation or Provocation

2:00 – 3:00 pm Education

Sheila Ross, CalgaryFaithful Companions of Jesus in the Field ofEducation in Brandon MB 1883-1896.

2004 CCHA Conference 2004

2 Spring 2004 ISSN 1182-9214 Volume XVIII, No. 1

Coast to Coast

TBA

3:00 pm - 3:15 pm Nutrition Break

3:15 pm -- 4:15 pm Annual GeneralMeeting

5:30 pm Annual Liturgy, St Paul’sCollegeRev. Myroslaw Tataryn,

Celebrant, Eastern-Rite Liturgy

6:30 pm Reception, Faculty Lounge, St Paul’sCollege

7:30 pm Dinner: “The Cloister”, StJohn’s College

After-Dinner Speaker: Msgr. NormandChartrand

Monday, 31 May 2004

9:00 am - 10:30 am Ethnicity and theChurch

Rev. Myroslaw Tataryn, St Thomas MoreCollege/USask

Constructing a Religious Identity: The Birth ofthe Ukrainian Greek OrthodoxChurch in Canada

Terence Fay SJ, St Augustine’sSeminary/TST/UT

Acclimatizing to Catholic Life in Winnipeg:Filipino Catholics, 1972-2002

10:30 am - 10:45 am Nutrition Break

10:45 am - 11:30 am Archives Session

Lynn Champagne, Winnipeg

TBA

11:30am - 1:00 pm Lunch

1:00 - 4:00 pm Tours of Historical Sites

Option 1: French Catholic Sites Option 2: Ukrainian Catholic Sites

Vicki Bennett, Terry Fay sj, Margaret Sanche, JohnFitzGerald, Kathleen MacKenzie, and Linda Wicks

plan the 2004 Conference for St Paul’s College.

Robert McKeon completed a PhD intheology at the University of St Michael’s Collegeand is now found at Newman Theological College,Edmonton.

Rev Vincent McNally of Sacred HeartTheological Center, Milwaukee WI is included in


St Ninian’s History Project

the latest edition of Who’s Who in America (2003).He is judged to have “contributed significantly tothe betterment of contemporary society” throughhis publications and work in Northern Ireland.

David Shanahan has written theMs More Than Mere Talent: Native ResidentialSchools and the Jesuits, 1844-1960. Based ondetailed and exhaustive research in the archives ofthe department of Indian Affairs and of the Jesuitsof Upper Canada, Dr Shanahan’s study tells thestory of the school days of the hundreds of youngNative boys who attended the Jesuit schools inWikwemikong Reserve and at the Industrialschool in Spanish, Ontario, Canada. It provides athorough description of the classes, the diet andliving conditions, the sporting and otherrecreational activities in the schools as well as thereligious practices of students, faculty, and staff.Dr Shanahan also brings out very well the ongoingtension between the prescriptions of CanadianGovernment policy and the standards of Jesuiteducational practices. Those wishing a future copycontact Steve Catlin: [email protected].

Robert Dixon has publishedCatholic Education and Politics in Ontario, 1964-2001 to complete the fourth volume of the historyof Ontario Catholic schools initiated by FranklinWalker. For the purchase of single copies, CCHAmembers will receive a discount of 15%.

Terence Fay SJ delivered aninvited lecture at St Paul’s College, University ofManitoba on 11 March. He pondered “The Pastand Future of Canadian Catholics: HistoricalInterpretation.”

Michael Power is writing a historyof the London diocese. The committee membersworking with him are Edward Jackman op, Rev.John Comiskey, and Bishop Fabbro CSB.

Marianna O’Gallagher ofCarraig Books has published The Journal ofJoseph Brautigain, Winter on Gross Il, 1902-1903.

Vicki Bennett has been named the Director ofthe Publications Service of the CanadianConference of Catholic Bishops. The CCCBpublishes the Official Lectionaries, Rituals,Catechism, and the Liturgical Calendar for theCatholic Church in Canada. This includes a widerange of educational and pastoral books, as well asseveral journals, Liturgie, Foi et Culture and theNational Bulletin on Liturgy. To learn more,publications please visit www.cccb.ca.

Peter McGuigan is creating a filing aid onHalifax history from 1840 to 1950 which includesthe history of St Mary’s University. He contributedthe following newspaper articles on the topic: “TheSMU Date Debate,” The Sunday Herald, 28 April2002; “Saint Mary’s University’s Early History,1802-1940,” The Southender, March 2002; “TheHistory of Saint Mary’s University, 1940-2002,”The Southender, April 2002; “The Tower, SMU’sAthletic Complex,” The Southender, April 2003;“Bell Aire, Saint Mary’s North End Campus,1868-1872,” The Northern Post, September 2003.

Kathleen MacKenzie, CCHA MembershipCoordinator and St Francis Xavier UniversityArchivist, is presently researching and writing theofficial history of St Ninian's Cathedral Parish,Antigonish, NS. Through the generosity andsupport of Fr Edward Jackman and The JackmanFoundation, Toronto, Kathleen has been able toundertake this project. St Ninian's CathedralParish is the seat of The Diocese of Antigonish,which encompasses Cape Breton Island and thetwo counties of Antigonish and Pictou. The parishwas founded c. 1815 and given its name by BishopOctave Plessis on one of his tours to easternCanada. Established primarily by people ofHighland Scottish origin, and a lesser number of


Edward Jackman OP, Richard Lebrun, and PeterMeehan discuss financing of various CCHA

projects.

Irish and Acadians, St Ninian's has a long andfascinating history. The large blue limestoneRomanesque revival church was built by St FXfounder, the Most Rev Colin F. MacKinnon from1866-1874. The building alone has anextraordinary history in itself. This monumentalproject took eight years to complete and droveBishop MacKinnon into a near mental breakdowndue to the inability of the people to pay for itsconstruction. The interior art work was completedby the famous Quebec artist, Ozias Leduc in 1903.In 2002 it was declared a provincial heritageproperty. Through its close proximity to theUniversity and to Mount St Bernard College, (afemale academy and college run by theCongrégation de Notre Dame), to the Bishop'sPalace, and to the Congregation of the Sisters of StMartha--initially located at St FX--manyinteresting stories can be told. Kathleen has beenworking on the project for two years and isfascinated by what she is uncovering. The parishcan be said to have been a central focal point forthe decision making of the Diocese. ControversialBishop John Cameron (1877-1910) entertainedchurch leaders and famous politicians inAntigonish, including Prime Minister John DavidSparrow Thompson. Archbishop Neil McNeil ofToronto, Bishop Alexander MacDonald ofVictoria, and Archbishop John Hugh MacDonaldof Edmonton had their attitudes and views moldedin this environment. In fact Neil McNeil wasconsecrated Vicar Apostolic for Newfoundland in

St Ninian's Cathedral in 1895. This parish is quiteunique in that there was

John FitzGerald and Kathleen MacKenzie talkover the project of St Ninian’s Cathedral.

daily interaction with the bishop, the religioussisters, and the "college priests". Since theUniversity was relocated to Antigonish fromArichat in 1855 , well educated clerics from "thecollege" acted as unofficial assistants to the pastor.Some university personnel were also rectors. Itwas common for priests to do double duty in theparish and at the college. Bishops William Fraserand John Cameron were parish priests at StNinian's prior to climbing the episcopal ladder.University personnel such as Dr Moses Coady andFather Jimmy Tompkins of Antigonish Movementfame, as well as other college priests regularlyhelped out with confessions and preaching. Thistrend continues until this day. A retired St FXcleric-professor says the daily 7:30 a.m. Mass. TheCND's ran and taught at the parish boys' schooland often acted as sacristans, organists and choirdirectors. Later on, this congregation, as well asthe Marthas, maintained seats on the parishcouncil. Since the middle to late 19th century, StNinian's parishioners were exposed to "big ideas"not usually found in relatively isolated ruralcommunities. The community benefited from theadvanced educations of those priests, religioussisters, and laity who were educated in Europe,central Canada, and the US. Antigonish became acentre of social and cultural activities with itsmany public lectures, and musical and theatrical


Notices and Conferencesproductions. The importance of formal educationand Catholic social teaching can be traced allthrough the parish's history. The Cathedral becameand still is a focal point of the community. It wasthe leader in the diocese in the establishment of layorganizations, for example, the Catholic Women’sLeague. Social and cultural ideas such as the fearand abhorrence of the drinking of alcohol arereflected in the establishment and activities of TheTotal Abstinence Society and The League of theCross. Strict adherence to official Catholicteaching was reflected in founding of manysodalities and confraternities, and in theobservance of the many feast days and populardevotions. The Church was the focal point of thedaily lives of the people. The work of improvingthe community through the establishment of localschools and the hospital were outgrowths of theparish. The rector was a leader of the community,not just of the local Catholics. The community wasalso Protestant and the relationship with thenon-Catholics was primarily a good one. Thehistory of the parish is also interesting in that itreflects the changes in the Canadian CatholicChurch and what was undertaken to adjust to thesechanges. Overall, Kathleen has found theresearch fascinating and hopes to have itcompleted by the spring. Over the last few yearsshe has been working as chair of the Cathedral'sHistorical Committee, and one of the committee'sprojects has been the establishment of an officialparish archives. The organization and preservationof these records has helped this project immensely.Many other important resources have been foundin the St FX Archives and the diocesan/localnewspaper, The Casket. Kathleen hopes that thiswork will be much more than the ordinary parishhistory. It will be a social, cultural, economic, andpolitical history of the community and region aswell. The book will describe how an unusual ruralparish reacted to its immediate surroundings, to themany changes in the Canadian Catholic Churchwhile at the same time it established itself as aleader for the Diocese as a whole.

The 71st Annual Meeting of the CanadianCatholic Historical Association will be held inWinnipeg, Manitoba at the University of Manitobafrom 30 - 31 May 2004. The theme for the 2004Congress is “Confluence.” Sub-themes areidentified as “Ideas, Identities, Place.” Forinformation contact Linda Wicks: [email protected]

Catholic Archivist Group will meet at StMichael’s College/UT for their Annual Conferenceon 2-4 June 2004. Professor Mark McGowan,Principal of St Michael’s College, will address thearchivists at the opening dinner. For information:Gayle Desarmia SP, [email protected]

American Catholic Historical Association on 6-9January 2005 is meeting at Seattle, Washington.Members were invited to submit proposals forpapers and sessions by 15 January 2004. Forinformation: Professor Christopher J. Kauffman,[email protected].

The CCHA welcomes new members: DavidCarle; Adrian Ciani; Robert Dennis; Donald E.Macdonald; Dr Gretchen M. MacMillan; JohnMeehan, SJ; Dr Debra Nash-Chambers; ChristineO'Brien NS; Greg Skelly; and Slawomir Wysokinski.

The CCHA is planning on OnLine Edition ofHistorical Studies beginning in the fall of 2004.Members of the CCHA will be given the passwordto have access to the sixty-nine volumes whichnow stretch from 1933 to 2003. The OnLineCommittee of Richard Lebrun, Peter Meehan, andTerry Fay SJ are preparing back issues of thejournal to be scanned online within this year.

In addition, the Current Bibliography ofCanadian Religions which is found in the centre ofeach issue will be collated to provide an integratedbibliography of Canadian Religions. Brian Hoganand Margaret Sanche have worked on thebibliography over many years, and Brian has


Book Reviews

already compiled the bibliographies of issues 1963to 1992. Current Bibliography of CanadianReligions when brought up to date and putonline will be a powerful tool for students ofCanadian religions.

Terry Fay SJ, Dick Lebrun, and Peter Meehanconsider how to put Historical Studies and

Current Bibliography OnLine for students ofCanadian religious history.

Poor Ignorant Children: Irish Famine Orphansin Saint John, New Brunswick. Peter D.Murphy. Published by the D'Arcy McGee Chairof Irish Studies, St Mary's University, Halifax,Nova Scotia, 1999, 83 pp., $20.00

In 1847, at the height of the IrishFamine, about 16,000 Irish immigrants set sail forNew Brunswick, mainly Saint John. Due to anoutbreak of typhus, about 800 died en route andsome 1,300 died after reaching the province. Inorder to remove as many children as possible fromexposure to disease and reduce the tax burden onthe citizens of Saint John for the care of those whowere orphaned, the New Brunswick governmentoperated a temporary emigrant orphanage from1847 to 1849 in the former Saint John City PoorHouse.

Few people knew much about itsinhabitants, however, until Peter Murphy – a Saint

John historian and genealogist, who wascompleting a thesis at Saint Mary's University --found the asylum's admittance ledger in the handsof a woman related by marriage to the Keeper,William Cunningham. The ledger revealed that310 orphans were cared for in the asylum untilrelatives, farmers, merchants and other"gentlemen" were found to look after them. Mostof the children spent less than one year in theinstitution although thirty-eight children with"debilitated constitutions and suffering fromdysentery," died there, and five more ran awayfrom it.

It was the columns of personal information oneach inmate in this twenty-five page orphan'sregister – lamentably still privately owned – thatprompted Mr. Murphy to undertake a detailedcomputerized analysis of it. Mr Murphy haspreviously authored Together In Exile - agenealogical work on some of the Irish who settledin Saint John. His new work, Poor IgnorantChildren, is an annotated reproduction of theadmittance ledger of the Saint John EmigrantOrphan Asylum which is preceded by an overviewof the circumstances that led to its establishment.Through imaginative use of the ledger,supplemented by diverse Alms House records andpublished sources, Mr Murphy painstakingly triesto trace these unfortunates from the time they leftIreland right up until they were reunited withrelatives or otherwise placed outside theinstitution.

Although he manages to provide details aboutthe lives of some of these children, the limitedscope of the available sources means that hisoverall results are somewhat disappointing. In fact,he found only eleven children enumerated in thehomes of their takers in the 1851 Census. Inaddition, "out of the remaining two hundred andninety-nine children who had passed through theAsylum, only one could be located in the Census,"he writes. We do know, however, that thirty-eightorphans died in the institution before the 1851Census was taken.

Elsewhere in this work, Mr Murphy commentson the acrimony between Roman Catholics andProtestants in Saint John during the 1840s. "The


Admittance Ledger of the Saint John EmigrantOrphan Asylum makes it clear that it was theresentment occasioned by the huge influx of Irishpaupers during the Famine which eventuallycemented the wall between Saint John's warringdenominational factions," he writes. While thisstatement has some validity, it is the author's ownassumption and not something found, as claimed,in the admittance ledger. One glaring cause ofconflict, particularly in regard to the temporaryorphan asylum, was the "unavoidable" placementof large numbers of Roman Catholic children inProtestant homes.

Overall, this is a well-researchedand well documented work in which the footnotesshould be read with care because they tell us agreat deal about the hardships these orphansendured. This work is a welcome addition to thegrowing volume of specialized and in-depthstudies on Irish migration to British North Americaand will, no doubt, be scrutinized by scholars whostudy this period. Beyond that, it should have aspecial appeal to those of Irish descent in the Cityof Saint John. James M Whalen, Historian and formerArchivist at the National Archives of Canada,Ottawa

Fateful Passages: The Life of Henry Somerville,Catholic Journalist. Joseph Sinasac. (Ottawa:Novalis, 2003. 155 p., illus.

Confidant and advisor to bishops,advocate for Catholic social action, teacher,journalist and thinker — Henry Somerville (1889-1953) was all of these and more. Born in aworking-class family in Leeds, England,Somerville developed a life-long interest in theright of workers, adult education and above all,social justice. His stock and trade was journalismand by the outbreak of the First World War, he wasregarded as one of Britain’s more progressiveCatholic writers and activists. In 1915, while onthe staff of the Manchester Guardian, Somervillewas lured to Toronto by Archbishop Neil McNeilwho was looking for an advisor, an expert, whocould speak to the Catholic population of thediocese about the social issues affecting both

church and state. For three years, the youngEnglishman penned a column on “Life andLabour” for The Catholic Register, lectured at StAugustine’s Seminary and advocated the formationof Catholic study clubs. Somerville was no radical,but he was good for McNeil and for the Catholicsin Toronto; but shortly after the Armistice in thefall of 1918, he returned home and re-establishedhimself in England.

Yet Henry Somerville never severed his tieswith Canada — he was in regular communicationwith Archbishop McNeil, he toured and lectured inthe Maritimes and Quebec in 1922, and he was, formany years, the London and Europeancorrespondent for the Toronto Star. He married,started a family, yet still found time to write andteach Catholic social activism.

In 1933, Canada was mired in the depths of theeconomic depression and the lack of any politicalsolution to the crisis created uncertainty anddespair, especially amongst segments of thelabouring classes. In Toronto, Archbishop McNeilwas concerned that the Catholic perspective on theissues of the day was being lost or distorted byincreased polarization in Canadian society; herecognized that there was a need to reach out to theCatholic community and he knew only one personwho could do this — Henry Somerville. McNeilmade his pitch and Somerville, with his wifeMargaret and three young children, returned toCanada in the fall of 1933 as editor of TheCatholic Register. Once again, he served asMcNeil’s closest advisor, a role he would continuewith his successor, Archbishop James McGuigan.As editor of the Register, Somerville informed hisCatholic readers about the issues of the day, heencouraged them to think and to act, to practicetheir faith with social consciousness; hedemystified the trade union movement and theCCF for Catholics by consistently defending therights of workers and by advocating Catholicsocial action. Somerville never wavered in hisbelief in a Catholic flavoured socialism, and hisstrongly held faith and activism (as well as hisfamily) sustained him through the difficult 1930sand the trying years of the Second World War. Hisviews and opinions, his Catholic perspective on the


social concerns of the day, were respected in thechurch and beyond until his death in 1953. HenrySomerville was, in Jeanne Beck’s words, “the mostinfluential layman in the English-speakingCatholic Church in Canada.”

Fateful Passages is the third in aseries of “out of the ordinary” biographiespublished by Novalis Press; biographies of SisterGeraldine MacNamara and Jim McSheffrey havealso been published. Somerville’s biographer, JoeSinasac, is publisher and editor of The CatholicRegister. His book is based on a wide range ofpublished sources and interviews and he makesgood use of Jeanne Beck’s unpublished doctoralthesis on Somerville. Sinasac is clearlysympathetic to his subject and has done anexcellent job of describing Somerville, his ideasand the intellectual and spiritual influences on thisrespected Catholic thinker. The story is nicelybalanced between Somerville’s professionalactivities as a journalist and his personal life; it iswell-written, not overly academic, and includes aselection of photographs and a brief bibliography.Above all, Fateful Passages serves as a fineintroduction to an important, “out of theordinary”Catholic thinker and activist who strokedthe social consciousness of Canadian Catholics ata critical time. Henry Somerville enriched thechurch and his fellow Catholics with his writingand advocacy on social justice issues.

Glenn Wright, Ottawa, Ontario

The View From Rome: Archbishop Stagni’s 1915Reports on the Ontario Bilingual SchoolsQuestion. Translated and with an Introductionby John Zucchi. Montreal and Kingston:McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002. Pp.131. $65.00

This modest little volume is awelcome complement to a growing body ofscholarship on French-English relations in theCanadian Catholic Church. While the clash ofvisions between French-Canadian Catholics andthose often problematically identified as "the Irish"erupted in nearly every region of the countrybetween the 1880s and the 1930s, the most seriousand malicious infighting took place in Ontario's

Church, particularly among the Catholics of theOttawa Valley. Since 1975, the analysis of thelanguage wars in areas such as politics, education,missions, episcopal appointments, and the GreatWar has been undertaken by Robert Choquette,Roberto Perin, Chad Gaffield, Raymond Huel,Marilyn Barber, Margaret Prang, and even thisreviewer. Given the extensive research alreadyavailable to scholars, John Zucchi is careful toinform readers that he is not trying to "reinvent thewheel" (p. xi) but is trying to bring to light someimportant Roman correspondence that should offernew reflections on issues already widely published.To this end the book is very successful.

Zucchi begins the documentary study with avery helpful introduction to the salient issuesrelevant in the Francophone-Anglophone tensionswithin the Church. He has a mastery of theavailable secondary sources, which he mines withaplomb, presenting a thumbnail sketch of the clashbetween the Church's two charter groups overmissions, elementary schools, bishoprics, andpost-secondary institutions. Drawing heavily uponthe works of Arthur Silver and Roberto Perin,Zucchi unpacks the French-Canadian Catholicvision of Canada, and the sense of Providentialmission they possessed in spreading the Catholicfaith within the Dominion. Using Quebec, theirdistinctive French and Catholic homeland as aspringboard, clergy, lay leaders, and men andwomen religious sought the establishment anddefence of Catholic communities, primarilyFrancophone, across Canada. (xxi)

The author has a little more trouble accountingfor the Irish, who formed the largest ethniccomponent of the English-speaking Catholicpopulation. Sensing a need for further study,Zucchi writes: "The perceived absence of a similarmissionary elan among the Irish has not beenaccounted for systematically." (xxi) I think Zucchiis partially correct here; no scholar has produced afocussed study of Irish Catholic providentialism inCanada, although the topic has been dealt with, ina minor way, within the context of other studies ofthe Canadian Irish experience. First, it is difficultto describe an homogenized view of the Irishbecause the character of Irish Catholic settlement


and acculturation was contingent upon the timingof their emigration (generally between the 1780s to1850s), the regional differentiation of theirsettlement, their double minority status relative toFrench Catholics and English Protestants in anygiven region, and the behaviour andself-identification of the Canadian-borngenerations. What results is a complexity withinthe Irish Catholic experience that easily shakesgeneralizations or the application of labels todescribe a common Canadian experience. Indeed,Toronto's first Archbishop, John Joseph Lynch,believed strongly that the Anglophone IrishCatholics had been given a mission by God toconvert the Protestants of the continent (as didMichael Fallon and A. E. Burke) but it is notknown how widespread this providentialism wasamong communities of the Irish outside Ontario orMontreal. Zucchi has broached an importantquestion worthy of further investigation.

The second section of the book -the documents - will certainly rank as the volume'senduring value to researchers in the field. In 1910,the Vatican appointed Pellegrino Stagni, a memberof the Servite order, teacher, and Archbishop ofAquilia, as Apostolic Delegate to Canada. Helanded at a time when the two principal ethnicstakeholders in the Church were at loggerheadsover the nature and future of Ontario's bilingualschools. From his residence in Ottawa, Stagni wasa careful observer of the events as they unfolded:the reports of the Department of Education's schoolinspectors, the offensive of the French CanadianEducational Association (ACFEO), the responsesof Anglophone Bishops, the involvement of theQuebec hierarchy, the heated commentaries of LeDroit and Henri Bourassa's Le Devoir, and the allout warfare that ensued between Anglophone andFrancophone Catholic leaders in the wake ofRegulation 17, which restricted French languageinstruction beyond what is now grade two. InZucchi's crisp translation of Stagni's report toGiovanni Cardinal de Lai, Secretary of the SacredConsistorial, we learn much about how Romecame to view the crisis in the Canadian Church.

Stagni's communiqué of 1915reveals clearly what many of the scholars working

in the field have already reasonably conjectured:while Rome was sympathetic to the French claimsto educate children in their mother tongue, Vaticanofficials maintained that education in the Faith,itself, was more important. There is much inStagni's comments and supplementary documentsto confirm and affirm, from Rome's perspective,what the "Irish" believed to be the correct stance totake on the bilingual schools issue - it wasprimarily a matter of race or language, not offaith.(55) Stagni also asked Rome to take action toavoid any threats to Ontario Catholic schools (theprincipal argument of the Anglo-Celtic bishops)and this included muting the French-Canadianagitation, especially the "campaign based on racehatred, like that conducted by Le Droit." Stagni'sreport clearly weighed in on the "Irish" side,although Pope Benedict XV's letter, Commissiodivinitus (included in the volume), was morebalanced in its approach, leaving considerableambiguity and, subsequently, plenty of wiggleroom for both sides. It's a pity that The View FromRome does not include snippets of De Lai'scorrespondence that would massage Stagni'soriginal comments into a more diplomaticpronouncement.

The documents are interesting, controversial,and at times downright nasty, as is the case ofSenator Philippe Landry's impetuous epistle to theDelegate, which Stagni appended to his report. Inshort, John Zucchi has provided a valuable sheaf ofdocuments to researchers and students.Unfortunately, The View from Rome is priced sooutrageously ($65.00), that few will be able topurchase it, and will have to depend on the wisdomof those in charge of library acquisitions in order tomake use of it. This book and its author deservebetter.

Mark McGowan, St Michael’s College/UT


Current Publications

Compiled by Fred McEvoy, Ottawa

Choquette, Robert. Canada's Religions: AnHistorical Introduction Ottawa: University ofOttawa Press, 2004

Dixon, Robert T. Catholic Education and Politicsin Ontario, 1964-2001, Vol. IV. Toronto: CatholicEducation Foundation of Ontario, 2004

Ferretti, Lucia. "L'Église, l'État et la formationprofessionnelle des adolescents sans soutien. LePatronage Saint-Charles de Trois-Rivières, 1937-1970," Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française 56(3) (2003): 303-28

Jenkins, William. "Patrolmen and Peelers:Immigration, urban culture, and "the Irish police"in Canada and the United States," CanadianJournal of Irish Studies 28 (2) (Fall 2002)/29 (1)(Spring 2003): 10-29

Kenny, Stephen. "A Prejudice That Rarely UttersIts Name: A Historiographical and HistoricalReflection upon North American Anti-Catholicism," American Review of CanadianStudies 32 (4) (2002): 639-72

Laugrand, Frédéric. Mourir et renaître. Laréception du christianisme par les Inuit del'Arctique de l'Est canadien (1890-1940). Laval:Les Presses de l'Université Laval, 2002

McGuigan, Peter. “James Charles McGuigan,Beggar Bishop and Cardinal,” Catholic Insight 11(Nov 2003), 36-9 and 41.

- “The CCF and the Catholic Church: A Decade ofStruggle to Accommodation,” Catholic Insight 12(Jan 2004), 34-7 and 40.

- “Robert Keyserlingk, Cardinal McGuigan, andthe Demise of the Ensign,” Catholic Insight 12(Feb 2004), 29-34.

Skogan, Joan. Mary of Canada: The Virgin Maryin Canadian Culture, Spirituality, History andGeography. Banff: Banff Centre Press, 2004

Smith, Nicholas, et Alice Nash. "La linguistiquel i turgique du père Aubery: aperçuethnohistorique," Recherches amérindiennes auQuébec 33 (2) (2003): 7-17.

Fred and Margaret McEvoy discuss current bibliographyand book reviews.


Obituaries

Gerald Stortz, 1947-2003

On a Sunday afternoon inNovember, after attending Mass with his family atthe Church of Our Lady in Guelph, ProfessorGerald Stortz retired to his study to begin markingthe essays and test papers that had been submittedto him by his classes at St Jerome's University. Insome ways it was a typical day in the life of aprofessor who devoted himself to his family, hischurch and his students. These were the values thatmarked his life and it was entirely fitting that GerryStortz found himself thinking about his family, hischurch and his students. It was also to be his lastday. On November 23, 2003, Gerry Stortz died ofheart failure. Three days later, the Church of OurLady overflowed with colleagues from universitiesacross the province, with students and formerstudents from St Jerome's and Waterloo, Laurierand Guelph, Toronto and York, museum workersand old friends from his neighbourhood in Guelph,and those who knew and respected this somewhatshy but quintessentially likeable historian. Dr Gerald Stortz had served his profession,his university and his church in ways that were notalways immediately obvious. His career also offersinsight into his ability to reach out to studentswhom he insisted call him not Professor Stortz, butGerry. And they did so with affection and with anoutpouring of grief on his passing. Gerry Stortz hadfirst worked at the Brewer's Retail and from thisexperience had an endless capacity for personalanecdotes that put students at rest as he taught themthe history of "ordinary Canadians" as well as ofleaders in Church and politics. He had alsoattended Conestoga College in Radio andTelevision Arts before enrolling in history at theUniversity of Waterloo where he completed anHonours B.A. and an M.A., moving on to theUniversity of Guelph for a Ph.D., where his interestin Catholic Church history grew out of a 1980dissertation on "John Joseph Lynch, Archbishop of

Toronto." Active in the Canadian CatholicHistorical Association, Gerald Stortz was known tomany as a former President of the Association anda regular commentator on the papers at its annualmeetings across Canada. With Terence Murphy heco-edited Creed and Culture: The Place ofEnglish-Speaking Catholics in Canadian Society,1750-1930 (1993), and most recently he was aco-author of Enthusiasm for the Truth: AnIllustrated History of St Jerome's University(2002).

Gerry Stortz joined the History Department ofSt Jerome's University in 1985, serving for manyyears as Chair of the Department of History and amember of the University of Waterloo'sAdmissions' Committees. Gerry Stortz lived inGuelph with his wife Karol and daughters Emilyand Martha.

Kenneth McLaughlin, St Jerome’s University

Murray Nicolson, 1926-2003

Murray Nicolson passed away in Newmarket,Ontario, on 9 December 2003 at age 77. He issurvived by his wife, Doris, and their six children.Murray was a graduate of St Jerome’s and lovedhistory, especially the social history of the CatholicIrish in nineteenth-century Ontario. His doctoralthesis for the University of Guelph was preciselyon that topic, The Catholic Church and the Irish inToronto.

Murray did work in areas such as the history ofthe Mackenzie King family, but his heart and pridewas in tracing the development and the gatheringstrength of the Catholic communities, Irish andScots, in Canada. He had no use for Marxist orsecularist interpretations reducing religion to themargins of Canadian society. On the contrary, heregarded men such as Toronto’s early Catholicbishops, Michael Power and François deCharbonnel, as heroes and saints.

When Catholic Insight magazine asked him towrite a general series of articles on the history ofCatholics in English-speaking Canada, he set to itwith alacrity and produced some fine articlescovering Newfoundland, the Maritimes and


Ontario. Beyond those borders, however, he feltunqualified to write.

Murray was a dedicated teacher,including a number of years at Wilfrid LaurierUniversity where a Memorial Bursary has beenestablished in his name. He was a long-timemember of the Canadian Catholic HistoricalAssociation. May he rest in peace. Alphonse de Valk, CSB, Catholic Insight

Cardinal G. Emmett Carter, 1912-2003

Cardinal Gerald Emmett Carter1912-2003

Former Honorary President of the CCHA

Beginning his vocation in the Canadian churchat Montreal, he was ordained a priest in 1937 andfounded St Joseph’s Teachers College to prepareEnglish-speaking teachers for their profession. Asa bishop, continuing his interest in education, hemoved to London in 1962, and to Toronto asarchbishop in 1978. Through his career, he wrote anumber of books for the community and epistlesfor his fellow believers. John Paul II named him acardinal of the Catholic Church in 1979. He was anadvocate for minority groups, affordable housing,and invited Covenant House to open a house inToronto. The Order of Canada was awarded to himin 1983, and Canadian and American universitiespresented him eleven honorary doctorate degrees.He has been the long-standing honorary presidentof the CCHA. After retiring from the see ofToronto in 1990, the archbishop emeritus continuedto receive many awards and honours until his deathlast spring.


The Canadian Catholic HistoricalAssociation wishes to acknowledge that the

Bulletin is printed and bound through thecourtesy of Grenville Management and

Printing Ltd., 25 Scarsdale Road, TorontoM3B 2R2; Tel. 416-449-4499.

The CCHA would like to acknowledge thegenerous support of the Jackman Foundation

of Toronto and other benefactors.

Photography credit to Edward Jackman OP,and Cardinal Carter’s photo to ARCAT.

Recent individual benefactions from Most Rev.Robert B. Clune, Margaret Sanche, Rev. PaulGemmiti, Sr Edith Down, Rev. Francis Reed,Glenn Wright, Louis Cahill, Roy and DianeDowling, and Daniel Ryan.

The Bulletin is published in the Spring andthe Fall of each year by the Canadian CatholicHistorical Association. Notices, letters, calls forpapers, and short articles are welcome on topics ofinterest to historians. Deadlines for submission are15 November and 15 March . Seewww.umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls/ccha

Editors: Terry Fay SJ, Fred McEvoy (BookReviews), Charles Principe CSB, Kevin KirleyCSB: History Office 508, 10 St Mary Street,Toronto ON M4Y 1P9: Tel 416 968-3683; Fax 416921-1673; E-mail: [email protected].

Canadian Catholic Historical Association1155 Yonge Street, Toronto ON M4T 1W2Tel. 416 934-0606; Fax 416 934-3444 x501www.umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls/cchaMembership Inquiry: [email protected]

Executive of the CCHA English Section

President-GeneralDr Vicki Bennett

CCCBOttawa ON

[email protected]

PresidentDr John E. FitzGerald

Memorial University of NewfoundlandSt John’s NL A1C 5S7

[email protected]

Vice-PresidentLinda Wicks, Archivist

Sisters of St Joseph of TorontoToronto ON M2M 3C4

[email protected]

Secretary-GeneralDr Edward Jackman OP

P O Box 398Kleinburg ON L0J 1C0

[email protected]

SecretaryMargaret Sanche

St Thomas More CollegeSaskatoon SK S7N 0W5

[email protected]

TreasurerDr Terry Fay SJ

History Office 508, 10 St Mary StreetToronto ON M4Y 1P9

[email protected]

Membership CoordinatorKathleen MacKenzie, Archivist

St Francis Xavier UniversityAntigonish NS B2G 2W5

[email protected]

Editors of Historical StudiesDr Richard A. Lebrun & Dr Peter Meehan

[email protected] ; [email protected]


MemoriesCCHA Halifax Conference 2003

John FitzGerald, Elizabeth Smyth, and Terry Murphy ponderthe history of the Maritime provinces.

Mark McGowan and Elizabeth McGahan considerepiscopal jurisdiction and the rights of women religious.

Co-Hosts: Dalhousie and St Mary’s Universities

Huguette Turcotte MIC and Rev Georges Savoie reflect onChinese Catholic hospitals in Montreal and Vancouver.

Margaret and Robert Sanche enjoy the salt air and seabreezes at Halifax.


MemoriesCCHA-ACHA Joint Conference 2001

Presidents Richard Alway and Roseann Runte greetedCanadian and American participants.

Participants at the CCHA-ACHA take notes for thequestion period.

Co-Hosts: University of St Michael’sCollege and Victoria University

CCHA shares a working dinner as the Joint CCHA-ACHA

Conference is about to begin.

Lorna Bowman, Veronica O’Reilly, Elizabeth Smyth , andPatricia Byrne share notes about women’s history and

religious life.

the canadian catholic historical association

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