The missionary vision of Catherine McKinley (Mother Mary Edward), founder and Superior of the congregation of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, arrived in Saskatchewan in 1912. Local clergy had appealed to the Congregation when typhoid raged through Moose Jaw. Sisters Mary Angel Guardian Mangan and Mary Camillus Bradley arrived on November 14, purchased a building that day, and welcomed their first patient two weeks later. Providence Hospital grew with the new city, becoming respected for its nursing and training programs.
By 1939, Saskatchewan’s settlers were ageing and the Depression had left many poor. The Sisters took on the care of the indigent elderly, purchasing the former Presbyterian College in Moose Jaw and renovating it to become St. Anthony’s Home.
The hospital and home operated independently until 1983, when the administrations merged. In 1995 both institutions closed, and the new Providence Place for Holistic Health opened to care for the aged, and the Sisters’ duties shifted from administration and medical services to pastoral care duties.
The Founding Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, provided leadership until 2002 when ownership was transferred to the Saskatchewan Catholic Health Corporation.
