The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, the first Canadian religious order in the Anglican Church, was founded in Toronto in 1884 by Hannah Grier Coome. The Sisterhood's first experience of Saskatchewan was in 1885 when, in response to a government appeal, the Mother Foundress took three members of the Community and three secular nurses to Base Hospital, Moose Jaw, to nurse the wounded in the Second Riel Rebellion.

In 1918 Bishop (later Archbishop) Malcolm Harding of the Diocese of Qu'Appelle requested Reverend Mother Dora to have the SSJD administer a boarding school in Regina for prairie girls. The SSJD had been running a girls' school in Oshawa, Bishop Bethune College, since 1893, and Aylmer Bosanquet, an SSJD Associate living in Saskatchewan, helped Bishop Harding to make the connection and also gave the money to get the enterprise going. Mother Dora agreed, and Sister Madeleine (the first Headmistress), Sister Eliza, Sister Ellen and Sister Mary Ada were the first of many Sisters who, with staff and students, built up the life and traditions of the School over its 52 years. Many of the Sisters who "came West" to QDS had never seen the prairies before. They learned to love the landscape and to appreciate the qualities of the people of Western Canada.

The history of the School encompasses the Depression, World War II and the post-War years - hard times and growth times. Initially, there was a need both to raise academic standards and to build up enrolment. During the lean Depression years, the School was at one point down to just 7 boarders. If it were not for the determination and ingenuity of Sister Katherine, who was at the School from 1919 to 1942 (as Sister-in-charge after 1925), who worked tirelessly, taking in boarders out of term to generate additional income, the School would probably have closed. It was also Sister Katherine who chose the school flower, the marigold, and the school colours, blue and gold. For those who supported it during these lean times, the School was seen to offer far more than a merely secular education. There was an ideal set forth, something 'not seen with the eyes'. For that, the Sisters were responsible.

Sister Katherine's 23 years was the longest single stretch of service: but Sister Audrey spent a total of 32 years at QDS, more than any other Sister. When she arrived in September, 1931, there were only 13 boarders: when she left in 1963, there were 85! For much of that time, she was Sister-in-charge, responsible for the well-being of the Sisters, but she also taught English and Scripture and after 1957, Kindergarten. She led the Library Club and was responsible for many of the ceremonies, rituals and traditions which made our school life so rich.

Most of the School's Headmistresses were also Sisters. In addition to Sister Madeleine, there were Sister Marion (who as Miss Green was Headmistress from 1920-23); Sister Francesca (1938-48); Sister Constance (1948-1955); Sister Margaret Ann (1955-68); and Sister Beryl (1968-70). Educated in England, Olive Bussey was a teacher at Bishop Strachan School in Toronto before being professed as Sister Francesca in 1934. In 1935 she came to QDS to teach History and Literature, and when in 1938 Miss Phillips had to resign and return to England, she was succeeded as Headmistress by Sister Francesca. Under her leadership, and with a more experienced staff of teachers, the scholastic standing of the school improved considerably. When ill health caused Sister Francesca to return to the Convent in 1947, Sister Constance, an outstanding teacher at the school since 1938 and Sister Francesca's deputy, became Headmistress, continuing the emphasis on both academic and spiritual standards. Sister Margaret Ann, who had first come to QDS as a Novice in the early 50's, returned as a Sister and succeeded Sister Constance part-way through the 1955-56 school year. Sister Beryl came to the school as a boarder at the age of 12, graduated; returned as a teacher, then again as a Novice and finally as a Sister, and as Headmistress followed Sister Margaret Ann in 1968. Sister Constance, Sister Margaret Ann and Sister Beryl are still the lynch-pins around whom our annual alumnae reunions are organized.

A plaque in St. Chad's Chapel, which paid tribute to the work of the Sisters of St. John the Divine at the School, concluded:

With zeal and vision, a long line of Sisters served as administrators, teachers, matrons and domestic staff until the School was closed in 1970. The School motto FAIS CE QUE DOIS (do what you ought) was taught and lived through the traditions they established which combined academic achievement, religious education and social responsibility.

When we name them, we honour them. The Sisters who served at QDS/St. Chad's were:

Sister Madeleine Sister Eliza Sister Mary Ada Sister Ruth Sister Agnes Sister Ellen Sister Beatrice Sister Katherine Sister Francesca Sister Hilda Sister Mary Sister Cecelia

Sister Audrey Sister Constance Sister Beryl Sister Lydia Sister Elvira Sister Margaret Ann Sister Josephine Sister Dorcas Sister Eileen Sister Joan Sister Lorna Sister Anna

Sister Teresa Sister Edna Sister Jean Marie Sister Julian Sister Jacquelyn Sister Brenda Sister Helena Sister Doreen Sister Esther Sister Alison Sister Amelia

Sister Rosemary Sister Mary Beatrice Sister Thelma-Anne Sister Grace Sister May Sister Dorothea Sister Hilary Sister Mary Grace Sister Maud Sister Mary Olive Sister Joyce

The Sisterhood continues to be a prayer- and gospel-centred monastic community. Currently, the Sisters have 3 houses:  St. John’s Convent, their mother house in Toronto; Maison St-Jean/St. John’s House, Diocese of Montreal, in St. Lambert, Quebec; and St. John’s House, Diocese of British Columbia, in Victoria, B.C.  St. John’s Rehabilitation Hospital, located next door to the Convent, is one of Canada’s leading specialty rehabilitation facilities. It was established by the SSJD in 1936 and although they are no longer responsible for its administration the Sisters continue to hold a number of positions in the Hospital.

The community’s website is   www.ssjd.ca