The Sisters of Saint Martha, members of the Federation, were formally established as a religious congregation in 1900 after a providential beginning almost a decade earlier.
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The first members came from a group of women who responded to a call from Bishop Cameron in 1894. Receiving their formation from the Sisters of Charity of Halifax, they came to St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, to serve in the ministry of household management.
From the beginning, the 15 founding sisters who stood to express their “yes” regarded their work as cooperating with the university in the Christian education of youth and in training young men for the priesthood. Here, with nothing more than their energy, skill and generosity, they made a home for the priests and students of the struggling college and reached out to the poor and sick, faithful to their motto of service “for God alone.” The call to take a stand, to move to newness and embrace even unwelcome challenges became a characteristic of the sisters.
Within a few years of their founding, the sisters were called to respond in loving service to other needs in the diocese of Antigonish and in the dioceses of central and western Canada. They embarked on each new venture in a spirit of faith, with courage and trust in God. Those who stood, now walked, following the Christ who continued to call.
Visit the official web site of the Sisters of St. Martha.
