Former PM to Join St. Ann's 150th Celebration
Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell will recall her days as a student at Victoria’s St. Ann’s Academy at a special June 7 event to mark the 150th anniversary of the Sisters of St. Ann’s arrival in BC’s capital city. Campbell’s keynote dinner address, “My Life at St. Ann’s: Sisterhood was Powerful,” is part of a gala evening to raise funds for an endowment established in 2007 by the Sisters to assist students in the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Education and C
The Sisters of St. Ann arrived in Victoria from St-Jacques, QC, in 1858 and immediately established a school for local children. As more Sisters arrived in the province, they expanded their missionary work and built the distinctive school building that still stands today on Humboldt Street.
“St. Ann’s was a very important part of my life,” says Campbell. “My year there as a boarder opened up so many new vistas for me and was a source of stability at a difficult time in my life.”
In addition to establishing several schools on Vancouver Island, the Sisters also opened a hospital (St. Joseph’s) in Victoria, in 1876. In 1900, a school of nursing was established at the expanding facility. From Victoria, the Sisters’ work took them north to Alaska, south to Port Angeles and throughout British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Members of the congregation also served in Quebec, eastern USA and as far away as Japan (1934-1941), Haiti, Chile and the Republic of Cameroon. Their latest mission opened in January 2006 in Kilembe, Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Education and health care have always been at the core of the services provided by the Sisters of St. Ann,” says Sister Kathleen Cyr, a long-time practicing nurse and nurse educator in BC and now chair of the University of Victoria’s School of Nursing Advisory Council. “The Sisters wanted to mark their anniversary with a legacy to assist future teachers and nurses.”
The Sisters of St. Ann 150th Anniversary Dinner will be held at the Victoria Conference Centre at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, 2008. Tickets are $100 each and are available from The Society of Friends of St. Ann’s Academy at the Academy, 835 Humboldt Street. Visa/Mastercard payments are accepted but cheques and/or cash are preferred. For further information about the evening or to purchase tickets, please contact
250-953-8820 or info@friendsofstannsacademy.com.
The Sisters of St. Ann arrived in Victoria from St-Jacques, QC, in 1858 and immediately established a school for local children. As more Sisters arrived in the province, they expanded their missionary work and built the distinctive school building that still stands today on Humboldt Street.
“St. Ann’s was a very important part of my life,” says Campbell. “My year there as a boarder opened up so many new vistas for me and was a source of stability at a difficult time in my life.”
In addition to establishing several schools on Vancouver Island, the Sisters also opened a hospital (St. Joseph’s) in Victoria, in 1876. In 1900, a school of nursing was established at the expanding facility. From Victoria, the Sisters’ work took them north to Alaska, south to Port Angeles and throughout British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Members of the congregation also served in Quebec, eastern USA and as far away as Japan (1934-1941), Haiti, Chile and the Republic of Cameroon. Their latest mission opened in January 2006 in Kilembe, Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Education and health care have always been at the core of the services provided by the Sisters of St. Ann,” says Sister Kathleen Cyr, a long-time practicing nurse and nurse educator in BC and now chair of the University of Victoria’s School of Nursing Advisory Council. “The Sisters wanted to mark their anniversary with a legacy to assist future teachers and nurses.”
The Sisters of St. Ann 150th Anniversary Dinner will be held at the Victoria Conference Centre at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, 2008. Tickets are $100 each and are available from The Society of Friends of St. Ann’s Academy at the Academy, 835 Humboldt Street. Visa/Mastercard payments are accepted but cheques and/or cash are preferred. For further information about the evening or to purchase tickets, please contact
250-953-8820 or info@friendsofstannsacademy.com.
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Media contacts
Patty Pitts (UVic Communications) at 250-721-7756 or ppitts@uvic.ca
