Edward MacDonald received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in a ceremony in September. In all, 120 other Islanders who were recognized by the federal government for their service to Canada and to their community. The nominations were made by members of the Senate and 60,000 were handed out in Canada, 1000 for each year of Her Majesty’s reign. The award consists of a medal bearing a likeness of the Queen accompanied by a certificate.
The South Street Poor House: A Century of Despair by Peter McGuigan is in first draft and will be published in 2012.
Elizabeth McGahan is the program chair for the forthcoming History of Women Religious Conference being held in June 2013 at St Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Vernacular Architecture Forum is hosting a June 11-15, 2013 conference in the Gaspé. The theme is The Ebb and Flow of Religion and Economy in Gaspé Cultural Landscapes. The Call for Papers Deadline is 15 November 2012.
Redemptorist North American Historical Bulletin for the summer of 2012 featured a “A History of the Redemptorists of French Canada” by Paul Laverdure.
The University of St Michael’s College and the University of Toronto have jointly awarded Peter Baltutis the Doctorate of Philosophy in History on 10 November 2012. He did his study on Forging the Link Between Faith and Development: the CCODP. Peter is lecturing at Niagara University and the University of St Michael’s College and has joined the CCHA Executive as Member at Large.
During January, February, and March of this year, Terry Fay SJ carried out research in India on the Reception of Vatican II by Indian Catholics. Staying at Jesuit universities he was able to locate 90 Indian Catholics to interview on this topic. An article on his findings was published in Indian Historical Studies IX, 1 (Fall 2012), 19-36.
In June Terry Fay SJ taught a graduate power-point course on the “History of Christianity in Asia” to Jesuit student theologians at St Joseph’s Jesuit Scholasticate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is the economic engine of Vietnam and is alive with high-rise construction throughout the city and is not unlike Toronto.