The fonds testifies to the Jesuit presence in several communities in Northern Ontario since 1844. The material attests to the work of the Jesuits as missionaries and chaplains in the region of Lake Superior, Sault Ste. Marie, Manitoulin Island, and in the communities along the Canadian Pacific Railway, up until 2015. In addition, the fonds provides information on the Jesuit involvement and interest in setting up schools for the Indigenous children of the region, including the Spanish Residential School, as well as on the history of the region and on the Ojibwemowin language. Documents dating from the 1960s onwards show new reflections within the Jesuit community, leading to a shift in their approach to the work they carried out among Indigenous communities.
The fonds contains diaries and announcement books, personal and historical notes, correspondence, financial statements, annual reports, parish records, Status animarum, baptismal and marriage certificates, church visitors’ books, Jesuits’ vows, insurance policies, meeting minutes, souvenir brochures, programs, legal deeds and agreements, and contracts. It also contains audio reels and cassettes, videocassettes, objects, publications, maps, architectural drawings, photographs, slides, and negatives.
Missions du nord de l'Ontario