After a remarkable career in religious service and education – more than four decades of which was spent in the Archdiocese of Vancouver – Sister Mary Ellen Burns, CSJ, will retire to Toronto at the end of the month, the last of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto who have served in the archdiocese for nearly a century.

While Sister Burns, 83, will be enjoying the comforts of the order’s retirement residence, her legacy will undoubtedly live on for a great many years in B.C.

“Through your ministry, you made an extraordinary contribution to our local Church by forming countless young Catholics in the truth of the faith,” Archbishop J. Michael Miller wrote earlier this month in a farewell letter to Sister Burns.

“Your presence in Vancouver will be deeply missed, especially by those who have experienced, through your apostolic work, the love of Christ in their daily lives and have come to know him [more] closely through your catechesis.”

Sister Burns was born in Sardis and, after obtaining her teaching qualifications in Vancouver, entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1956 at the age of 20. She taught throughout Ontario and then in northern B.C. before arriving in Vancouver in 1962.

She taught at several Vancouver-area schools before becoming the Coordinator of Religious Education Programs in the Archdiocese, a position she held from 1981 to 1995. For the following 22 years, Sister Burns was the local director of the Holy Childhood Association, known for the millions of dollars in nickels, dimes, quarters, and loonies collected by school children for foreign missions. 

At the same time, she was also director of the English Program for Japanese homestay students from Nanzan University.

Her dedication and excellence did not go unnoticed. On March 16, 2016, she received the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, the Holy See’s most significant award for distinguished service.

“She was an important member of the Office of Religious Education and was extremely appreciated in the work she did, both by teachers and catechists,” said Msgr. Gregory Smith, pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish in West Vancouver. 

Msgr. Smith, who was both archdiocesan chancellor and director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, also praised Sister Burns for her leadership of the Holy Childhood Association, the pontifical mission society dedicated to promoting missionary awareness among children and supporting foreign missions.

“She worked tirelessly to promote mission-mindedness in children throughout the archdiocese,” Msgr. Smith said, adding that she “brought a beautiful, soft touch” to her work.

“I can’t think of a finer example of living religious life in the service of the Church than Sister Mary Ellen.”

As principal of St. Augustine’s Elementary in Vancouver for 27 years, Catherine Oberndorf saw first-hand the good that Sister Burns achieved. “Sister Mary Ellen was always kind, thoughtful, and enthusiastic about her work,” she said. “She did a beautiful job of engaging schools and getting children to read and understand the work that Holy Childhood was doing.”

That was no small matter, given the challenges of capturing children’s attention in the 21st century, Oberndorf said. “Sister Mary Ellen did all she could to inspire children to think of someone other than themselves.”

Sister Burns herself looks back on her career with great fondness and satisfaction. “I always wanted to be a teacher so, clearly, teaching would top the list” of the favourite parts of her career, she said. “I taught all grade levels, but I think my favourite classes were the little first graders.”

She also greatly enjoyed each new group of catechists that she helped during her 14 years in the Religious Education Office.

“In looking back, the St. Joseph Sisters taught in 11 archdiocesan schools and were the founding sisters in most of them,” she said.

“I hope our legacy will be these strong, vibrant Catholic schools. My prayer is that they will continue to form communities of devout, active, mission-focussed young people for the Church of tomorrow.”

Archbishop Miller noted that Sister Burns’ departure marks the end of an era that began in 1922 when a small group of sisters came to Vancouver at the invitation of Bishop Timothy Casey and Father Louis Forget to teach at St. Patrick’s School.

“Thank you, so very much, for all that you and your Sisters have given to us,” he wrote. “May God continue to bless you and keep you safe as you move into another season of your life.”

Read Sr. Mary Ellen’s full “vocation story” here: https://rcav.org/testimonies-sister-mary-ellen-burns-csj/