The Story of Four Sisters of St. Ann’s
On Saturday, June 5th, 1858, the SS Seabird arrived in Victoria harbor with a very special cargo aboard.
Among the passengers were four Sisters of St. Ann who had travelled to Fort Victoria from Montreal at the request of Bishop Modeste Demers. The bishop, the first Catholic Bishop in this area, had arrived earlier to supervise the vast Catholic See that then stretched from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Arctic. He needed missionaries to help him for such a large area so had gone back to Montreal looking for recruits.
The first four Sisters to arrive were initially housed in a dilapidated log cabin in Victoria but two days later they had opened their home as a school. By November of that year, the cabin had been enlarged and the Sisters had additional students as well as some orphans and a sick woman for whom they cared. That was just the beginning.
In the coming years, more Sisters arrived and further expansion was undertaken. Missionary work also began up-island, onå the mainland and even as far as Alaska. In 1864 the Sisters opened a First Nations school in Cowichan and later a girls’ boarding school was opened in Nanaimo.
Meanwhile, in 1871, the same year that British Columbia became a Canadian province, a completely new structure was built on Humboldt Street which would be the beginning of St. Ann’s Academy as we know it today. This 1871 Wing was designed by Joseph Michaud and Charles Vereydhen. The cornerstone ceremony was attended by many dignitaries including Sir James Douglas and Lt. Governor J.W. Trutch. This original Wing (which today is situated between the Interpretative Centre and the Hooper Wing) housed a school and a small residence until the next addition was built in 1886. By then, there was also an Administrative Centre, a boarding school, a Novitiate and an Infirmary here in Victoria.
In 1875, the Sisters opened a hospital in Victoria at the request of Dr. James Helmcken and Bishop John Seghers. By the following year, St. Joseph’s Hospital was ready to receive its first patients, by which time the sisters had studied health care under the direction of many medical professionals.
Throughout the decades since then, the Sisters of St. Ann continued to open hospitals and schools throughout the province continuing their valuable work of spreading their good work and ministry. More ministries were launched and many Sisters transferred to other parts of the world to continue with their mission.
St. Ann’s Academy itself served as a school until 1973 at which time the Sisters were forced to close due to ever-rising operating costs. The property was then purchased by the provincial government and the grounds became a parking area. The building itself served for a while as government offices.
Sadly, during the 1980s and 1990s, there was vandalism and water damage throughout the building and a decision had to be made as to whether St. Ann’s would be demolished or worth restoring. Fortunately, it was decided to restore and, in 1993, the Minister Responsible for the Provincial Capital Commission made the announcement that a re-development proposal was being sought at a cost of $16.7 million.
Paul Merrick Architects Ltd. was chosen to restore the Academy after consideration of many architects and heritage planners. The whole project would be a long and difficult one involving compromise and a great deal of research. Much of the interior in the parlors, chapel and auditorium, was restored to the 1920s era. A plan was also put into place to insert new concrete walls inside the existing walls of the Academy, Convent and the 1871 and Hooper Wings, which would meet current earthquake safety standards.
The exterior of St. Ann’s has not been altered since the addition of the 1910 Wing and this restoration involved mainly repair work. The building was repainted in its original color. John Taylor of John Taylor Photography was the site photographer for the restoration project. He began his documentation in December 1995.
When most of the restoration work of the building was completed, focus was turned to the gardens. Even details such as herbs in the Novitiate’s Garden have been researched and replanted.
Throughout the years, the Academy has also been the setting for concerts, theatrical productions, weddings and other special events. The Chapel is non-denominational.
Like British Columbia itself, St. Ann’s Academy which began in a small log cabin with four incredibly brave and hard-working women, has much of which to be proud.