- Title:
- Ordered compassion : Irish members of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa in the mid-nineteenth century
- Creator:
- Fitzgibbon, Linda
- Date Created:
- 2002
- Degree Awarded:
- Master of Arts
- Subjects:
- social work catholicism Irish
- Geographical Focus:
- Canada Ottawa
- Supporting Materials:
- n/a
- Description:
- In 1845 the Sisters of Charity established a mission in Bytown. This thesis will examine the role that the Sisters played in shaping the network of social and religious services in the area. In doing so it attempts to fill a gap in our historical knowledge. A number of the Sisters were Irish female immigrants and played an active role in the Order. There has been a lack of attention to the female members of the Irish diaspora in Canada and the degree to which they displayed agency and helped to shape the emerging Canadian society. Although these women were members of a highly structured religious congregation, they worked within the system to carve out successful and satisfying careers. Their faith was central to their lives and they were inspired by the overwhelming urge to find their salvation by social action. The Sisters’ spirituality cannot be separated from their lives and work. It allowed them to persist in overcoming the hardships and poverty of life in the convent and sustained them in their struggle to succeed in their mission in Bytown. The Sisters were actively involved in organizations which had a direct impact on the newly emerging city of Ottawa. By using records housed in the religious archives of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa and the Oblate Fathers of Mary Immaculate, this thesis attempts to explore how the Sisters negotiated issues relating to gender, class, ethnicity, and religion as they worked to build their institutions.
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- Fitzgibbon, Linda. 2002. "Ordered compassion : Irish members of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa in the mid-nineteenth century", Department of History, Carleton University
- Link to this page:
- https://cuhistory.github.io/grads/items/hist_178.html
Rights
- Rights:
- Copyright the author, all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.