Interpretive
Centre: East Block,
1886
Novitiate
Staircase
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The
Novitiate Staircase
c1940
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o the left
of the foyer was a wide set of wooden stairs, known as the Novitiate
staircase. These stairs led from the second up to the third floor,
where the Novices, the women training to become nuns, lived and
studied. In the eyes of the students at the school, these stairs
were an entrance to a forbidden world, to which only Novices and
Sisters were allowed to go. Some of the little girls believed that
the young Novices were rising up to visit the angels each time they
climbed the stairs, and there was a very real sense of excitement
for anyone who was permitted to use the Novitiate staircase for
a special reason.
The Novitiate
officially opened at St. Ann's in 1889, and over the next 80 years,
those stairs would be climbed thousands of times. This began to
leave a distinctive mark on the woodwork, for the centre of each
step became hollowed out. "It would only be the Sisters' steps
that hollowed it out", recalls a former resident of the convent.
There was a sense of history for the women, looking at the marks
left behind by generations of Sisters going up and down the stairs.
Cleaning the stairs was a necessary chore that the Novices were
grateful to avoid. Dust would rise into their faces as they scrubbed
and polished them to the level of cleanliness that was expected.
The rungs and railings also had to be polished.
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The ceremony
where the Novices made their final vows and professions, to enter
the Sisterhood, were taken in the chapel. Wearing their veils and
holding candles, they would descend the staircase in a procession
to the flower-filled chapel. This would be their final journey down
the Novitiate Staircase as Novices, for the next time they climbed
it, they would be Professed Sisters.
These steps were symbolic to the Sisters, Novices and pupils of
St. Ann's for many reasons, representing important stages in their
lives, and the changes they made between childhood and becoming
an adult. This historical role was recognized by the restoration
team, and the woodwork was carefully restored. The railing had been
dismantled, so it was a challenge to fit all of the custom-made
pieces back together. Many of the pieces were taked from another
stair railing in the building. Like many other parts of the Academy,
historic photographs played a large role in returning the Novitiate's
staircase to its former beauty. The stairs are visible to visitors
to the Interpretive Centre, but they remain restricted to those
who have a reason to travel to the third floor. The rope from the
bell tower hangs at the side of the railing, ready to ring the bell
as it did when the Novices lived above.
Click here for more on
the restoration of St. Anns Academy.
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Several of
the older Sisters could not manage the stairs, and an elevator was
installed for their use. It was an old 'cage' elevator, with open
metalwork, that was operated by one of the Sisters, who would sit
and wait for the busy periods between classes, when there was the
most need to travel between the floors. The elevator began operating
in September of 1925, but not without mechanical troubles, for it
was known to stop between the floors. The students were generally
not allowed to use the elevator, so some of the girls would pretend
to have leg injuries, to sneak a ride!
More
on the Interpretive Centre
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