St. Ann's Convent School

“The devoted women who look after such institutions and the helpless little ones whom Providence has entrusted to their care do not expect a reward in the world, yet it was a source of pleasure and gratification for them and to the rev gentlemen now here to know the community appreciated and encouraged their good work.” – His Excellency, Lieutenant Governor J.W. Trutch – The Daily Colonist 13 September 1871

The laying of the cornerstone at St. Ann’s Convent School on 13 September 1871 was a monumental occasion that has left many questions. Lieutenant Governor J.W. Trutch laid the cornerstone for the Sisters of St. Anns. And H.L. Langevin was present, as part of what marked the first visit of a federal minister to the province of British Columbia. The 1871 convent is the first section of the larger expanded building on the historic site today. It was reported on in the Daily Colonist, but the remaining records reveal numerous inconsistencies with the practices of the Sisters of St. Ann’s.

First, the Sisters of St. Ann’s kept meticulous records of all that occurred at the convent, the school, the orphanage, St. Joseph’s hospital, and the Catholic community of British Columbia as a whole. As early as the turn of the century, the St. Ann’s Academy kept a museum or cabinet of curiosities and always emphasized their history of pioneering ecclesiastical work in the province. Yet, despite the Lieutenant Governor’s presence and the Sisters’ self-professed patriotism, photos of the cornerstone laying ceremony remain impossible to find.

Second, with the later additions to the present building, the original cornerstone has since disappeared with no evidence of the time capsule ever being recovered. Both the time capsule and the cornerstone were laid at the Northeast corner of the building, to which renovations were made in 1882 and 1886, taking out the East wall and, presumably, the cornerstone with it.

The 1871 ceremony laying of the cornerstone at St. Ann’s Convent School on 13 September 1871 was the only ceremony that we have found which mentions women.

The ceremony began at 3:00 PM. Although present, the Sisters played a minor role compared to the male clergy and the visiting federal minister. The Daily Colonist and secondary sources only make mention of the presence of Mother Mary Providence, who added relics to the “tin box deposited in the stone.” The diminished role of women in these formal ceremonies reflected the social stratification of the Catholic Church and Victorian culture as it was reflected in early Victoria. Reporters used the prestige of those in attendance to emphasize the significance of the occasion and men, generally, held more power and prestige than women in secular and church society.

Above all, the address of Father Seghers, the second archbishop of British Columbia, recognized the cornerstone laying ceremony as an achievement of charity and recognition of the charitable work that the Sisters performed everyday. “The building now in the process of erection,” said Father Seghers, “is devoted to a two-fold object – Charity and education.” Further comments reflected the patriarchal structure of the ceremony, prominent men taking care of the religious women, who take care of the “fatherless children” and “needy orphans.”

After Father Seghers address, the architect presented the Lieutenant Governor with a silver trowel, with the inscription “Presented to the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia on the occasion of the laying of the corner-stone of St. Ann’s Convent School.” Such a trowel was also presented at the laying of the cornerstone for St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1875.

Like the usefulness of a small silver trowel in the construction of a building, the cornerstone for the convent school was symbolic and played no real structural role to the integrity of the building. Hence, it may have been moved without consequence in 1882 or 1886. The prominent men and clergy were not builders and only struck the stone with a mallet after it was declared “laid.”

The time capsule for the St. Ann’s Convent School in 1871 was a tin box laid inside the stone and its whereabouts today remains a mystery. Its contents were:

• A daily and weekly British Colonist
• A daily Standard newspaper
• Some coins of 1871
• Relics from Father Seghers and Mother Mary Providence
• The minutes of the ceremony on parchment

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