Location: Toronto, ON
St. Joseph’s Health Centre was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1921 on the site of an orphanage. The City considered expropriating the site of the Sacred Heart Orphanage to build a school. At this time, hospitals could not be expropriated and so to protect the Orphanage the Sisters opened a hospital and St. Josephs was founded.
The stained glass windows were designed and fabricated by Yvonne Williams in her Toronto studio in 1940 and 1941. The windows were made from tiny pieces of fully painted glass, in designs very similar to St. Michael’s Hospital.
EGD Glass was commissioned to provide a full conservation treatment. Grime was embedded in the protective glazing and it was leaking, causing damage to the windows.
EGD Glass removed the windows from their openings before taking rubbings and thorough documentation. The windows were dismantled in our Toronto studio in order to be repaired and releaded.
The restored windows were then installed in a new location, having been relocated from the Chapel to the entrance of the new Our Lady of Mercy Wing.
The panels were impressively installed in vertical encased glass and steel frames. The Our Lady of Mercy Wing was opened and blessed by His Grace, Archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Collins in December 2011.