3080 Prince Edward Street
Chapel

Mount St. Joseph Hospital Chapel
Vancouver, B.C. Canada

"Mount Saint Joseph Hospital opened in Vancouver in 1946, but it really started with the dream of a young Quebec girl, many years before.

"Délia Tetreault was born on February 4, 1865 in Marieville, a small country town near Montreal. In her memoirs she wrote that as a child she had a dream that marked her whole life:

"All of a sudden I saw a ripe wheat field as far as the eye can see. At a given moment, the ears of wheat changed into heads of children and I understood that they represented the children of the world. I was struck by this dream and told no one about it.

"The dream came true in 1902 when Délia Tetreault (in religious life known as Mother Mary of the Holy Spirit) along with two companions founded the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the first missionary congregation for women in Canada. Mother Délia felt it was time for Canada to enter into the missionary movement of the Church, and she offered her life to this calling — reaching out to the poor, the underprivileged, and especially, those who did not know Jesus Christ.

"... it was no surprise when she responded to Archbishop Casey’s request and sent four Sisters to Vancouver in 1921. They moved into a home on Keefer Street where they provided health and education services, including a four-bed infirmary.

"In May 1924, the Sisters purchased another house at 236 Campbell Avenue and opened a dispensary. With the need for their services increasing tremendously, they built a new three-storey building next to their residence, and in 1928 opened St. Joseph’s Oriental Hospital. The Sisters started a second dispensary in 1936 at 795 Pender Street, which continued in operation until 1951, providing health services to the growing Asian community.

"Soon the facility on Campbell Street was no longer suited to the increasing demands of a quickly expanding population. The Sisters decided to acquire a larger piece of land, at 3080 Prince Edward Street, and to start work on a new hospital. In 1946 — the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters in Vancouver — Mount Saint Joseph Hospital (MSJ) was opened.

3080 Prince Edward Street

(Copy of photo on wall of hospital)

"Today, Mount Saint Joseph Hospital is a 240-bed acute and extended care facility with an international reputation for excellence in providing for the needs of multi-faith and multi-ethnic communities....

"During their 78 years in Vancouver, a total of 173 Sisters have served the people through health care, education, parish work and family counseling. Each and every Sister has tried to be faithful to the teaching of Mother Délia, who once said:

“Giving ourselves is our life! It is not enough to thank God in words…we must also transform our gratitude into actions…Let each of our lives be then through prayer, sacrifice and work a perpetual hymn of thanksgiving for ourselves and for all those who forget to thank the One to whom they owe everything. Let us be permeated with the thought, live by it thoroughly and leave it as a heritage to those who will replace us.”

Prince Edward Street Entrance

The main ground floor entrance of Mount St. Joseph Hospital remains on Prince Street.  At the entrance to this building is a statue of St. Joseph and the Christ Child.   

St. Joseph and the Christ Child.

The lovely hospital Chapel is down the hall in the rear of the first floor.   Statues are also featured here.  Central on the reredo is the golden Crucifix of Christ on the cross. Flanking the Crucifix are the statues of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph with the Christ Child.

The Virgin Mary

St. Joseph with the Christ Child

In the front corner of the nave is a statue of Christ of the Sacred Heart.  Seating in the nave is a bank of 6 pews on one side and 7 pews on the other.  A small electric organ is in the back on the 6 pew side.  

Christ of the Sacred Heart

Lining the sides of the chapel are windows with colored glass featuring a cross. Below each windows are plaques of the Stations of the Cross.

Colored Glass Windows of the Chapel

Station of the Cross Plaque

Mass is held in the hospital Chapel in the afternoons. "Pastoral care services are available on a 24 hour basis for crisis/emergencies." (REF.) For patients and staff unable to attend services, prayers are broadcasted over a PA system.

Photos: Taken in May 2013 by SW.
Reference: Hospital pamphlet "Care of the Human Spirit".
Link: http://www.providencehealthcare.org/