Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Builder of Institutions
Image of Mother Joseph courtesy of Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla
Fort Walla Walla Museum’s Living History Company presents Kathy miller as Mother Joseph of the Sisters of Providence. It was under Mother Joseph’s guidance that the facility in Walla Walla that became Providence St. Mary’s Medical Center was founded.
Mother Joseph (christened Esther) was born in 1823, the third of twelve children of Joseph and Francoise Pariseau in St. Elzear, Quebec, Canada. At age 17, she enrolled in a newly opened boarding school at St. Martin de Lavel because her mother felt she needed to develop her intellect, talents and skills beyond the family home. In 1843 a new religious order of Catholic woman, the Sisters of Providence, was started in Montreal. After a visit with the Bishop of Montreal, Esther Pariseau decided to enter the order and later took the name Mother Joseph.
In 1856 Mother Joseph led a group of Sisters from Montreal to Washington Territory. Her mandate was to care for the poor and sick, as well as to educate the children. On Dec. 8 th after an arduous journey, they arrived at Fort Vancouver, where they found themselves housed in the attic of the Bishop’s house, which soon became their Convent.
Mother Joseph did not speak English, but two of the Sisters did and acted as translators. They showed the pioneers their tenacity and determination, as well as their adaptability to a hard life. In Vancouver, Mother Joseph and her companions started a boarding school and St. Joseph Hospital, which opened June 7, 1858.
Mother Joseph and her companions traveled throughout eastern Washington on horseback raising money from miners to build hospitals and schools. In 1864, a school was started in Walla Walla and St. Mary Hospital was opened here in 1880. Mother Joseph died of cancer in Vancouver in 1902.
Performances begin at 2:00 p.m. in the pioneer settlement at Fort Walla Walla Museum. Visitors are encouraged to question the Living History re-enactors about their lives and times. The Museum is open daily, 10 am - 5 pm, April through October; 10 am - 4 pm, November1 through December 23; and weekdays, 10 am - 4 pm, January through March.
Admission is free to Fort Walla Walla Museum members,
eligible service personnel & their familes through
the Blue Star Museums program, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute's
Inwai Circle cardholders,
enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and all children under 6;
$3/children
6-12; $6/seniors (62+) and students; $7/adults.
Your admission fee today may be applied to a membership,
priced beginning at $27. For more information, contact Fort Walla Walla Museum at 509-525-7703, or email: info@fortwallawallamuseum.org. |
