Meet the founder: Sr. Delphine

SISTER DELPHINE FONTBONNE: FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH IN TORONTO

By Sr. Catherine McCarthy

From Bas-en-Basset to Lyons

At the age of eighteen years, Marie Antoinette Fontbonne entered the doors of a large old Capuchin Monastery that had been converted into the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Lyons, France. Her aunt was the superior of the convent and her older sister, Febronia, one of the nuns.

Marie Antoinette was a sturdy intensely pious child of a large close-knit French family in the farming district of Bas-en-Basset. The style of training she received in Lyons was both rigidly monastic and devoted to ministries to poor women and girls.

The New World

After five years of meticulous training and labour, Marie, known now as Sister Delphine (see accompanying picture), was sent to the new world with five other young women, none of whom knew anything about America except its many physical and spiritual needs. They left their beloved France, their families and friends thinking never to return. Among those sent were Sister Delphine's sister Febronia and her older brother Jean, a priest. To have her sister and brother along on the great adventure proved to be both a consolation and a problem. Sister Delphine was a fiercely opinionated and independent woman of 23 years. Sister Febronia had been named superior of the Sisters and Father Jean a self-appointed spiritual guide.

Delphine's years in America, notably Missouri and Pennsylvania, in and out of leadership roles, among loyal friends and devoted enemies have been recorded elsewhere. Her strong convictions and independent spirit combined with an ability and desire for leadership have been duly noted. In Philadelphia, the Bishop of Toronto, Armand F.M. de Charbonnel, requested that Delphine establish a foundation in Toronto. She was 37. The Bishop asked for Delphine because his father was a patron of the congregation and he knew Mother St. John, Delphine's aunt in France. He recognized that she was part of a remarkably talented family. In the ensuing years, Delphine never let him down.

Early Days in Toronto

The Toronto into which Delphine's little group was plunged in 1851 engaged her entire being. One hundred children, for the most part newly orphaned by tragic deaths, needed to be fed, clothed, cared for and loved. This woman, noted for her strict enforcement of monastic-like rules, strong convictions and immovable opinions, adapted marvellously and immediately to the new challenging environment. Her three companions were still in their twenties, inexperienced, and the young women who subsequently joined them ranged in age from 17 to 24.

Delphine worked with and guided this young community for just over five years until her death. While ministering to an Irish victim of typhus, she caught the disease. Her personality was a strange mixture. She had a deep-seated respect for the traditions of her teachings but this was combined with a singular talent for immediate adaptation to her present circumstances. Because of her vibrant character, the establishment of the community in Toronto was like no other congregation. Her decisions were based on prayer and love of neighbour.

In the first six months she sent her one mature companion with two members to make a second foundation in Hamilton. In the first three years, she built a Motherhouse on the St. Paul's Church property. It included an academy for the education of young women. The orphans thrived, received basic education and had their physical and emotional needs met. The overworked Sisters shared in all her works and worries. The Bishop declared in a letter to Rome, "The Sisters here do everything but give absolution."

Thanks to Sr. Delphine's efforts, sixty-five Irish women were sponsored and given work positions in the city. She received help from other sources: twice a year, farmers from the area unloaded produce at the orphanage doors.

The two establishments were efficiently and lovingly managed. Hamilton prospered. Sister Febronia and Father Jean had long since returned to France but the indomitable Delphine only grew in energy, compassion, adaptability and true spirituality.

The Spirit of Sr. Delphine

It was to Sr. Delphine and to de Charbonnel's consummate love of the poor that Toronto owes the impressive House of Providence where the Spirit of "Him who loved the Poor" would always be alive and well on Power Street.

The Spirit of Sister Delphine Fontbonne was reflected in each of the 50 novices she trained and in the thousands of their successors. Throughout its history, the Toronto community and its offspring have kept the memory of their extraordinary foundress alive and endeavoured to follow her inspiring example.

---

To read more Sisters' Stories, please see Meet A Sister