The Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an old religious order. It was founded in France in the distant 19th century by Sister Angeliqué Le Sourd. Subsequently, the activities of the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus spread to the territory of Ottawa. Find out more on ottawanka.com.
How did the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ottawa come into being?
The Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus didn’t come into being in Ottawa until the early 20th century. Five sisters of the French Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were sent to Canada specifically for its foundation. At first, the nuns from the French Order in Ottawa were engaged in scholasticism, after which the first Ottawa Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was opened.
Activities of the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ottawa
From their own convent in Ottawa, which was located along Obleit Street, the sisters of the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus welcomed new novices. In 1911 they opened a boarding school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ottawa. Initially, the school was intended for elementary grades, but afterward, the boarding school expanded to provide a complete secondary education. The Boarding School of the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ottawa was very popular. The number of children living there sometimes reached up to two hundred. For the most part, all the students at the school came from the eastern part of Ottawa.
However, the fate of the first Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ottawa was quite tragic. Eleven years after it opened, the convent burned down, so in 1915 the Sisters of the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ottawa put all their efforts toward rebuilding their convent.
Initially, novices of the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus spent two years training. But soon, this period was extended by the nuns for another year. Many sisters of the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus received a pedagogical education at the University of Ottawa. Later they taught various subjects in Ottawa schools.
The Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus kept growing every year. More women were coming to the convent, so the building itself required expansion. In the first half of the 20th century, several buildings were added to the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The convent turned into an entire town, maintained daily by the sisters. They tended the extensive vegetable garden on the grounds of the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and watched over the chickens and cows.
In the second half of the 20th century, the convent underwent reconstruction again, during which the building was significantly expanded. Moreover, new living quarters for the sisters, located on Main Street, appeared near the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In the 1960s, the Ottawa Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus became so large that it had to be split into two religious provinces. One province, Notre-Dame-du-Cap, remained in Ottawa, with its headquarters on Oblate Avenue and a second province, Notre-Dame-du-Sacre-Coeur, was established in Quebec. The number of nuns in the Ottawa Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus reached over 240, plus over 30 novices, 25 students and two retirees.
By the end of the 1990s, the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus had stopped training new novices, so the number of nuns had decreased significantly. Those who remained continued working as teachers and nurses in Ottawa institutions.
In the 21st century, the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is home to just over 90 nuns. It also houses many senior people. Sisters take care of them around the clock. The Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and its nuns have played a significant role in fostering religion and learning in Ottawa over the years. Their role as a religious order continues to be important in the 21st century.
