WINNIPEG –
Raymond Frogner says that when he found images of homeschoolers in the archives of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Rome, he knew he was looking at something important.
“It had a very historical feel, very deep,” said the chief archivist of the Winnipeg-based Center for Truth and Reconciliation in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.
Few archivists are able to examine the personal records of the religious order in the Italian city, Frogner said. But he spent five days early last month poring over the archives at the Oblate General House, where photographs, personal files and manuscripts chronicle the group’s activities around the world since its founding in 1816.
This legacy includes a significant presence in Canada.
The Oblates ran 48 residential schools, including the Marieval Indian Residential School in the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan and the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, where the discovery of unmarked graves last year sparked calls for justice and transparency.
Frogner delved into the archives at the former residence of an Italian nobleman. He worked in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary and a large fresco nearby depicting Jesus and the founder of the Oblates, Eugene de Mazenod.
But his interest was piqued by what was inside a set of metal drawers.
“The big find for me was in the photos.”
There were 20 picture drawers and three of them contained images of the Order’s missions in Canada. Many of them depict children in boarding schools in the early 20th century.
Frogner said he suspects there are up to 1,000 photos that could be important to understanding what happened in Canada.
“Not to my surprise, the archivist in the archives there had no idea of the significance of what they were storing,” he said.
The next step is to work quickly to digitize the photos, the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation and the Oblates said in a recent joint statement. The images will then be transferred to the center in Manitoba.
“The records we evaluated will help compile a more accurate chronology of Oblate members in dormitories across Canada,” Stephanie Scott, the center’s executive director, said in a statement.
Frogner said the hope is to work with the communities to identify the students in the photos.
“For us, as we review records and try to uncover the fate of lost children, these are photographs that can show at certain points in time where these children were,” he said.
Frogner brought with him a list of priests known to have committed crimes against children.
He reviewed the personal files on the actions and whereabouts of the priests. Although none of those files contain information about crimes, Frogner said they show priests moving frequently, having difficulty working with children or advising a priest to marry and leave the order.
“(The information) was very worded in vague terms.”
Frogner said he did not have enough time to fully analyze those records. Once the images are digitized, he hopes to take a more complete look at the personnel documents.
It has been the Order’s longstanding practice to keep personnel records sealed for 50 years after a member’s death. The order said steps were being taken to expedite access to the files.
The order’s files, currently in Canada, likely contain more complete information, Frogner added.
The Oblates have already provided the national center with more than 40,000 records, and another 10,000 have been digitized.
The Royal British Columbia Museum received about 250 boxes of material, a third of which related to boarding schools, from the Oblates in early 2019.
There are also agreements between the Oblates and other archives for the transfer of relevant records.
Frogner said he knows his latest findings are particularly important because Pope Francis visited Canada last week to apologize for the role members of the Roman Catholic Church have had in residential schools.
During the papal visit, local leaders demanded the release of all documents related to the institutions.
The Oblates have previously apologized for their involvement in residential schools and the harm they caused to indigenous people. The Rev. Ken Thorson of OMI Lacombe Canada, based in Ottawa, said in a news release that transparency is critical to truth and reconciliation efforts.
“While it has been a constructive year of partnership, I know these steps are just the beginning of an ongoing journey toward truth, justice, healing and reconciliation.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 1, 2022.
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