Feature 4: Wellspring and the Sisters of Saint Martha
The Gift of Hospitality
In 1894, the entirety of StFX was contained within Xavier Hall, and the students were taught by faculty-priests. The college was severely lacking in creature comforts, and so the Bishop of Antigonish appealed to the Sisters of Charity, a Catholic congregation in Halifax.
He proposed that the Sisters of Charity recruit young nuns from the Diocese of Antigonish, who could provide domestic services at StFX.
The first thirteen Sisters of the newly-formed auxiliary order – the Sisters of Saint Martha-arrived in Antigonish that summer and got to work. They did laundry, cleaned the student’s rooms as well as the priest’s offices and classrooms, and nursed sick young men in the infirmary. More than that, they made the college feel like a home.
From StFX, the Marthas expanded into nursing, and were instrumental in the establishment of many hospitals in northeastern Nova Scotia in the first half of the twentieth century.
Back on campus, with increased automation and a swelling student population, the Marthas role shifted. By 1994, the Sisters-who’d lived on campus for nearly one hundred years – moved to Bethany, behind the hospital the Marthas had founded in 1912.
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The Marthas’ on-campus convent had occupied space in Morrison Hall, and the Sisters pondered how they could best utilize the rooms in order to continue their mission of hospitality for the students of StFX.
The Sisters provided furniture-nd staff who were committed to creating a welcoming place on campus. Nearly 30 years after Wellspring opened its doors, StFX students from all backgrounds still find refuge with the Marthas. Adelaide Wimpenny ’15 recalls:
“Wellspring gave me and my friends a warm place to study, snack, and chat. It always felt like stopping by your grandma’s house, where you would find handmade slippers, homemade cookies, and people who cared about how you were doing.”
Over the years, Wellspring has also been a meeting place for Coady students, for non-traditional students, and often, for female professors to discuss issues in private.
Upon the occasion of Wellspring’s 25th anniversary, some devotees reflected upon their experiences there. Lewis Forward ’16,former Editor of the Xaverian Weekly, wrote:
“I always carried something up the stairs to Wellspring. A midterm, a final exam, a paper due too soon, missing home, a procrastinated task. Entering Wellspring, a room with wide windows with weather outside, warm colours, blankets covering students who hold books. Tables, covered with paper. I study for hours; we all do. With each scribbled note my task gets lighter. The Sister asks me how I am doing. It has grown dark outside, but the light is warm in Wellspring. The pages ahead of me thin, the pages behind me thicken, my stack of notes grows tall and wild. I slip my notes into my bag. A cookie for the road. I always carried something up the stairs to Wellspring. I carried less down.”
Despite Wellspring’s location, in a former convent, and its volunteer staff of nuns, it is decidedly nondenominational in its modern iteration. Sister Marion Sheridan notes that Wellspring
“Is a place where Marthas offer Gospel Hospitality to students, persons of all faiths, LGBT groups, prayer groups, Catholics at X, Celtic Studies, Yoga, Mindfulness, Mental Health groups and many other groups on the campus. It is a little like the UN on the STFX campus with peace as the centre of all activities.“
StFX History professor and Ceremonial Officer Barry MacKenzie ’07 recalls fondly that
“there was nothing quite as comforting as curling up on the couch [in Wellspring] for a nap, only to wake up finding that Sr. Rita or Sr. Yvonne had covered you with an afghan.“
More than a few alumni mentioned being covered with a blanket upon falling asleep on the Wellspring couch. Perhaps it serves as a metaphor for the Marthas’ unwavering kindness: all those who spend time in Wellspring feel enveloped in their warmth.
Former University Chaplain, Muffy MacIntyre ’11, transitioned from a student who took comfort in Wellspring to a volunteer there. Through the years, she notes,
“Wellspring remained a place of peace and calm. The Sisters of St. Martha, specifically Sr. Rita, Sr. Yvonne, and Sr. Jo, were always a welcoming presence in Wellspring and provided a home away from home for students.“
MacIntyre volunteers mainly during exam seasons now: “To give back and serve alongside the Sisters and other volunteers is a gift.”
The legacy of the Sisters of St. Martha at StFX is immeasurable. Although the congregation has contributed financially over the years, particularly in establishing bursaries for students from marginalized backgrounds to attend StFX, the Marthas’true gift is themselves. For nearly 125 years, the Marthas have modelled selflessness, acceptance, and love to the countless students who’ve been touched by their warmth.
And, notes Sr. Joanne O’Regan, Councillor on the Leadership Team of the Sisters of St. Martha,
“it is our desire that in collaboration, that spirit continues long into the future.“