Sisters of St. Ann Comment on LFA's New Canonical Sponsorship

To Members and Directors of the Board of the Jane Rowan Society; Parents, Students, Alumnae and Staff of Little Flower Academy:

September 8, 2016 marks the beginning of a year of celebration in honour of the 90th Anniversary of the opening of Little Flower Academy! Congratulations to all who have kept the dream of exemplary Catholic education for young women so very alive through this institution and throughout these many years.

As early as 1903 the Sisters of Saint Ann bought this land to establish a boarding school for girls, an objective relinquished at the request of the Archbishop at that time, who asked the Sisters to respond to other educational needs in Vancouver. In the minds of the Sisters, however, the dream lived on and finally, Little Flower Academy was opened on this day, September 8th, 1927. From 1927 until 1994 the Sisters shaped the spirit and functioning of the school through its management; educational leadership; teaching and provision of other staffing; and major capital improvements.

1994 brought the establishment of a separate society, the Jane Rowan Society, which would be responsible for the operation of the school. The Provincial Council of the Sisters of St. Ann, however, retained significant legal and canonical (church) authority and influence.

As the number of Sisters continued to decrease a plan was put in place to transfer the assets and all remaining responsibilities for the school to the Jane Rowan Society. I am very pleased to announce today that this process is now complete.

For Little Flower Academy to remain a Catholic institution it needed to be sponsored by a recognized canonical organization; since its beginning, its “canonical” sponsor has been The Sisters of St. Ann. Working closely with the Archbishop of Vancouver, the Sisters and the Members of the Jane Rowan Society developed the framework for a new “canonical” organization, to be called the Sisters of Saint Ann, Little Flower Academy Stewardship (LFA Stewardship). This new church organization was formally established by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB on July 26, 2016.

We are most grateful to the Archbishop for his recognition of the unique contribution to Catholic education made by Little Flower Academy and for his commitment that this contribution continues in the spirit of the Sisters of Saint Ann.

We, the Sisters, are especially grateful to the new Members of the LFA Stewardship and to the Members and Board of the Jane Rowan Society for their dedication in ensuring, as volunteers, that the mission of Little Flower Academy flourishes far into the future. We place our trust in them and in all of you who are part of the Little Flower Academy community.

In anticipation of this anniversary and the completion of the Sisters’ formal involvement in the school, I announce today that we recently forgave a debt of $2,339,441.00 owed to the Sisters. As well, we established a $150,000.00 endowment to assist with continuing to educate the Members of LFA Stewardship and Members and Directors of the Jane Rowan Society to the Mission of the school.

In closing, let me assure you that the Sisters of Saint Ann are not abandoning you! We will continue to follow with great interest all the activities and accomplishments of the school and to participate, as we are able, in special events. We welcome you to visit us in Victoria and most importantly, we will continue to accompany you in our prayer.

Yours sincerely,