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August 1, 1864
THE ROAD TO PLACENTIA
On this day (August 1, 1864) Bishop John Thomas Mullock, Roman Catholic Bishop of Newfoundland wrote in his diary: “Left St. John’s with five Presentation Nuns for Placentia to found the Presentation Convent there…”
Rev. Edward Condon the Parish Priest at Placentia encouraged the Presentation Sisters, under the leadership of Sister Mary de Sales Condon, to establish a convent in Placentia. The building of the convent was begun in 1858 but was "delayed by a series of poor fishing seasons and a good deal of sickness..." until 1864.
When Bishop Mullock was opening the door for the first time to the new convent, he turned to the Rev. Mother Condon and asked, " To whom they would dedicate their convent?" She answered: "to Our Lady of Angels." The name was chosen in memorial to a group of Franciscan friars from Québec who established Newfoundland's first religious house in Placentia in 1689.
In August, 1989, the Presentation Sisters left Our Lady of the Angels Convent. This event brought an end to an era of 125 years of education by the Irish Presentation Sisters in Placentia.. The chapel which was attached to the Convent in 1907 is now part of Sacred Heart Parish Church.
The annals of the Irish Presentation Sisters document the lives of the Sisters and the conditions of the Convent building in Placentia throughout the years. These documents are kept in the Archives of the Presentation Sisters on Military Road, St. John's, Newfoundland.
BEGGARS, SCOUNDRELS AND ROGUES
In the same diary entry Bishop Mullock observed that he was not amused with the state of the road on the way to Placentia and he laid the blame for the condition of the road squarely on the shoulders of the politicians.
He wrote ”Terrible road (to Placentia) owing to the beggars, scoundrels and rogues forming the government.”
For more information on this and other related subjects contact the Archives of the R.C. Archdiocese.
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Larry Dohey
Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s
P.O. Box 1363
St. John’s, NL
A1C 5M3
709-726-3660
E-mail: archives@nf.aibn.com
We hope that you have enjoyed this archival moment.
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