An Hospital open to different faith traditions
Although our Hospital was built primarily to serve the Protestant
community, a number of patients were admitted from other religious
backgrounds. The following Protestant denominations and other
faiths were served during its first 20 years of operation:
| Adventiste |
6 |
| Anglican |
1,118 |
| Baptist |
108 |
| Congregational |
72 |
| Greek Church |
11 |
| Jewish |
177 |
| Lutheran |
30 |
| Methodist |
438 |
| Plymouth Brethren |
19 |
| Presbyterian |
753 |
| Protestant |
266 |
| Roman Catholic* |
115 |
| Salvation Army |
6 |
| Unitarian |
25 |
| Universalist |
5 |
| Unknown |
16 |
*In the early years, Roman Catholics could only be admitted
to our Hospital as private patients, since other psychiatric
hospitals had been built for Catholic use. The situation
had changed radically by 1962, when the Hospital began
to hold Roman Catholic services for patients who could
not speak French. In 1965, we were honored by a visit from
Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger.
The weekly church service was central to early Hospital
life. In 1891, the medical superintendent said, “Services
[are] held every Sunday afternoon, and the average attendance
of patients [is] about 75 percent.”
Sunday services were held in the Main Building (Perry Pavilion)
until Douglas Hall was finished in 1912. Male and female
patients were seated on opposite sides of the aisle.
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