Pièce PH-1 - Photograph of women religious of the Diocese of Calgary

In 1979 women religious in the Calgary Diocese were surveyed to see if there would be any interest in establishing a council in response to Bishop Paul J. O'Byrne’s call for collaboration. At the end of 1979 the data was sent to a steering committee comprising Sisters Joan Wigbers SP, Kathleen Kelly SSS, Salvator Falardeau OP, Lois Anne Bordowitz FCJ and Carla Montante SP. The sisters voted 71 to 3 in favour of forming a group to support a number of functions such as communication, social, sharing, support, ongoing formation and vocation awareness. (There were 6 don’t knows). Groups already existed in Calgary and Lethbridge. The fledgling Council for Religious held its first meeting, with 50 participants, at the FCJ Convent in Calgary in April 19, 1980, when the first executive was installed by Bishop Paul with Sr. Carla Montante as chair. The purpose of the Council for Religious of the Diocese of Calgary was to:

1. Be a vehicle for communication in the Diocese
2. Provide opportunities for religious to share their ministries
3. Foster mutual support and growth by sponsoring workshops, days of prayer, socials, etc.

Bishop Paul saw the ‘Sisters’ Council’ as ‘the voice for Sisters in relationship to the apostolate of our Diocese, both to giving insights into what should be done and insights into what Sisters see as need within the Diocese’. He also felt that in 1985 this had not really been accomplished.

By 1987 the Council of Religious stated that it was ‘an organ of communication and a voice for all the religious of the Diocese'. Its purpose statement explained that ‘religious of different orders and congregations live and work in the various parishes or other structures of a diocese. Religious are part of the diocese and belong within the diocesan structure. If the religious are to have a voice within the diocese, they must group themselves together and from their ranks form a Diocesan Council of Religious.’