Series F01-S094 - Medaille Retreat House series

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Medaille Retreat House series

General material designation

  • Multiple media

Parallel title

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title is based on the contents of the series

Level of description

Series

Reference code

CA ON00279 F01-S094

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1969-2014 (Creation)
    Creator
    Medaille Retreat House

Physical description area

Physical description

18.7 cm of textual records
138 photographs : col.
16 photographs : col. negatives
2 digital video discs : (17 min., 16 sec.) ; aluminum, digital
2 CD-ROMs
4.5 cm photo albums
4.2 cm scrapbooks

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

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Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1969-2012)

Administrative history

Medaille Retreat House was founded in 1969 as a community retreat centre where members of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph could stay to spend time in prayer and contemplation. The house was named after Fr. Jean-Pierre Medaille, who established the Sisters of St. Joseph at Le Puy, France in 1650. The building which became Medaille House was located on Windermere Road. The grounds had originally belonged to Hellmuth College, and when the property was sold, some of the land was purchased by the Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1912, an eight-acre property adjoining Hellmuth College was also purchased, but later sold to the Nelles family who built a home and a gardener's house which they called Norwood Place, likely after the name of the original house built by Bishop Hellmuth which was named Norwood House. In 1943, the Sisters purchased the property back, and renamed the building St. Joseph's House of Studies. This building accommodated Sisters studying at the University of Western Ontario between 1949 and 1960.In 1960, the building was rented to Dr. J. J. McCredie. When the lease expired in 1969, it was decided to use the building as a community retreat centre, and it became Medaille Retreat House later that year. Sisters visited the retreat house for varying lengths of time ranging from a few hours of prayer to retreats lasting for several weeks.

Beginning in 1975 with their “Time Out” program, a 48-hour retreat for single mothers, Medaille House welcomed members of the public for courses and retreat experiences. Groups from churches, educational institutions, community organizations, and health care facilities attended programs at the retreat centre. In addition to the many programs designed to offer peace and spiritual connection, a beautiful labyrinth was added to the grounds in 1998 as a walking meditation tool. In response to a growing need, the Sisters created a new space for service and instruction in the Ignatia Hall auditorium at Mount St. Joseph. Located on the first floor, the newly refurbished space was called Medaille Program Centre. Programs began here in the fall of 1990, running until 2006.

During its years of greatest activity, Medaille House welcomed over 2,000 participants over an eight-month period from September 1992 to May 1993. After a closing ceremony on October 30, 2004, Medaille House moved to a new property, formerly known as Highview, at 545 Fanshawe Park Road West. The new Medaille House location opened on March 2, 2005. The original building on Windermere Road was demolished in July, 2005 in order to build the new Motherhouse. The demolition involved Habitat for Humanity volunteers participating in the dismantling so that materials could be re-cycled through the Re-Store. Programs at Medaille Program Centre were discontinued in 2006. In 2012, the Medaille Retreat House finally closed.

Today the CSJ Spirituality Centre carries on the work of Medaille House by providing spiritual direction, while retreats may still be arranged at the new Motherhouse on Windermere Road.

Custodial history

Scope and content

Series contains scrapbooks and photo albums, notes, cards, DVDs created and used by staff, meeting minutes, financial records from the Time Out program (1975-1980), program brochures, administrative records, annals from 1975-1990, newspaper articles about Medaille Retreat House, colour photographs, colour photograph negatives, and historical information about the retreat centre.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Records transferred from Medaille Retreat House to the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Archives, London site.

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

    Location of originals

    The records are located at The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Archives.

    Availability of other formats

    Restrictions on access

    The Archives reserves the right to restrict access to the collection depending on the condition of the archival material, the amount of material requested, and the purpose of the research. The use of certain materials may also be restricted for reasons of privacy or sensitivity, or under a donor agreement. Access restrictions will be applied equally to all researchers and reviewed periodically. No researcher will be given access to any materials that contain a personal information bank such as donor agreements or personnel records, or to other proprietary information such as appraisals, insurance valuations, or condition reports.

    Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

    Permission to study archival records does not extend to publication or display rights. The researcher must request this permission in writing from the Archives.

    Finding aids

    Series and file list available.

    Generated finding aid

    Associated materials

    Related materials

    Accruals

    No further accruals are expected.

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Standard number

    Standard number

    Access points

    Place access points

    Control area

    Description record identifier

    Institution identifier

    Rules or conventions

    Status

    Revised

    Level of detail

    Partial

    Dates of creation, revision and deletion

    June 19, 2016
    May 11, 2019
    May 23, 2019
    July 2, 2020

    Language of description

      Script of description

        Sources

        Accession area