A much loved music teacher, Cathedral organist and choir leader who believed in the power of music to help people break through self-imposed limits and develop their capacities, Kathrine Bellamy’s activism extended to facing up to the challenges in combating the social results of extreme poverty in St John’s.
Her love for all humanity was not confined to her choral work. She has been a tireless advocate of the dignity of the homeless, the poor, and the physically and mentally frail. She initiated a multi-faith committee that crossed denominational boundaries to spearhead the distribution of food and clothes to the less fortunate in the City of St. John’s.
(Oration honouring Sister Kathrine Bellamy for the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, bestowed by Memorial University, 2006)
Two years after accepting her honorary degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Sister Kathrine agreed to be interviewed by Liz Burge. The setting was a comfortable room in the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy near her beloved church, the Basilica of St. John the Baptist. The atmosphere of peace in the room contrasted with the content of her stories of community, poverty and seeking resources to lend comfort and dignity to the lives of people on her watch.
Born in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, Sr. Kathrine died on March 23, 2010 at the age of 86. Music was a feature of her household that helped form her, for her father, who came from England, taught her English folk songs. Her mother’s Irish lineage embraced generations of musicians. She had “an extraordinarily fine soprano voice and was an accomplished pianist.” Living in an era before television when people provided their own entertainment, Kathrine was exposed to sing-songs at home, and concerts and plays in her town.
Attending boarding school in St. John’s from the age of 12, Kathrine came under the influence of the Sisters of Mercy, who “sparked a real love of learning” and showed by example a life of joyful dedication that appealed to the young girl. At the age of eighteen, she decided to enter the novitiate of the Sisters of Mercy. Although she had wanted to be a math teacher, she was to become a brilliant musician and social activist instead: “Music gifted me,” she said with characteristic modesty.
Assigned to Our Lady of Mercy College, Kathrine learned to teach and also to conduct music with Sisters who were gifted musicians. By 1960, she was in charge of all classroom choirs in the school, as well as the Mercy Glee Club choir, which won accolades and wide recognition. This, Sr. Kathrine attributed to the “astonishingly sympathetic and supportive accompaniment” of Sr. Celine Veitch. Her own flair for teaching singing created choirs of young people and won, for example, the prestigious Mathieson Trophy in 1965 for the best junior choir in Canada….
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The purpose of this study was to trace the work of the sisters of Mercy in Newfoundland in the field of business education. The Sisters began their work in the late 1800’s, when they first introduced business education courses into the curriculum of their convent schools. Their work continued until the mid-1900’s, when they began phasing out the formal business education programs which they had developed over the years in their schools. Their activities in this area constitute an important and lasting contribution to the field of business education. There has been no previous in-depth scholarly investigation into this aspect of the Sisters’ work. Therefore, a study of the Sisters’ contribution to this field is long overdue.
Since 1842, the Sisters of Mercy had been ministering to the sick, poor and needy of St. John’s, thus when this established tradition of care was redirected toward hospital patients it was not difficult for St. Clare’s to live up to the motto “Mercy Above All.” Accordingly, St. Clare’s became home to Newfoundland’s first alcohol and detoxification centre and its first palliative care unit, and absorbed the chronic care of tuberculosis patients following closure of the city’s sanatorium; from 1922 until the obstetrics unit closed 70 years later, 83 000 babies were delivered…”
At this time St. Bride’s College, Littledale, established in 1884 by the Sisters of Mercy as a boarding school for young women interested in the teaching profession, was becoming increasingly important in the educational and cultural life of Newfoundland. The need for highly qualified teachers for Littledale was a constant concern for the bishop. Consequently, he was quick to welcome Sarah to the diocese, not for the Presentation Sisters but for the Sisters of Mercy.
Francis was,