A Short Biography
of 
Kathleen Cecilia Arnsby
Sister M. Callistus, C.S.J.

1914 to 1924 - Life in England

I was born in Plumstead, England on April 21, 1914, the third daughter of Robert Henry Arnsby and Delia Connors.  On April 26th I was baptised in St. Patrick’s Church, Plumstead by Reverend Francis Donovan, and given the names Catherine Cecilia.  James and Cecilia Whelan were my Godparents.

My childhood days in England were very happy ones.  My recollections of home for the first ten years of my life are centered in the lovely family residence, “The Retreat”, 64 Griffiths Road, Wimbledon, when the family must have moved some time after my birth.

Happy memories of those days include family gatherings in the big parlour for “singsongs”, with my sister Chrissie at the piano and my older brothers singing, and long walks every Saturday on Wimbledon Common.

Sundays were very special days, when my father would usually take Eileen and I for a quiet walk through the lovely residential pars of the town.  Sunday afternoons always provided a few hours of reading - and this I loved to do.  We had a very fine library, and before I was ten years of age I had read many of the fine works of Dickens and Shakespeare.  I can still see the blazing fireplace on winter afternoons, and myself curled up in a large arm chair reading.

From my earliest years I showed a great interest in music.  Long before formal lessons began, I can recall spending much time at the piano improvising long, showy pieces which I was always called upon to perform when friends and relatives called to visit.

At about six years of age (or perhaps earlier) I began lessons with a fine German teacher, Mrs. Brandt.  The highlight of my musical career in England was a trip to London to compete in the large Music Festival.  I can remember every moment of that day as if it were only yesterday - the new dress, new gloves and shoes, the train ride to London with my teacher.  The test piece was “Winter Song” by Felix Swinstead.  Competing against 39 other students, I was happy and proud to be awarded “Honourable Mention”.

Religion held a very high place in our home, due to the strong Irish faith of my mother. Daily attendance at Mass was expected of we children while we were still in school.  The value of Mass, devotion to Our Lady and the saints, acceptance of the “holy will of God”, faith and trust in the Providence of God - all these things were impressed upon us from our earliest years by mother for whom they were an inheritance from her own saintly parents.

1924 - Moving to Canada

When I was ten years of age the family moved to Canada.  The older boys preceded us by a year or so.  In July 1924, the younger members Desmond, Fred, Chrissie, Eileen, John and I came out with Dad and Mother.  

After a short visit with Aunt Mary (Dad’s sister) in Exeter, we settled in London, in a large house on King Street, very close to St. Mary’s Church.

Later on we moved to Queen’s Avenue (776), but remained in the parish.  

In September 1924, I was enrolled as a pupil in St. Mary’s School, Grade 6, and began music lessons at the Sacred Heart Convent, where I was taught by Sister Lidwina, and later by Sister St. Gregory.  For both of these Sisters, I held a profound admiration.

After two years at St. Mary’s School, I passed the Grade 8 Entrance Examinations (for admission to High School), obtaining the medal for General Efficiency.  I was eleven years of age.

While still a student at St. Mary’s, I began to play the organ.  The organist, Miss Minnie Keating, took a great interest in me.  Eileen and I used to go up the choir (since we attended mass daily) and assist with the singing of the Masses.  

Miss Keating then suggested I try the organ and offered to help me.  Then I sometimes replaced her for Masses and Benedictions.  In fact, when my brother Joe was married, shortly before I entered the convent, I played the organ and sang for his wedding.

1927 - Mother’s Death

During my first year at St. Angela’s College, the Catholic High School for girls, Mother took suddenly ill and died, after a short illness, of pneumonia.

She was anointed on St. Patrick’s Day and died on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19.  

This, of course, caused a great change in our family way of life.  Someone was needed to manage the household tasks, and because I had good health and strength, it was decided that I should leave school and remain at home.  I would continue to study my music, and would try to continue my academic education later.

During the Fall of 1928, Dad, who had been very lonely since mother’s death, and had never felt “at home” in Canada, decided to return to England.  He planned to bring with him the three younger children - Eileen, John and myself, as well as Chrissie.

For some time I had been very attracted to the religious life, due to my contact with the Sisters at the Sacred Heart Convent, and had decided to enter this Order as soon as I would be old enough.  

When I told Dad of this, he consented to allow me to remain in Canada provided that Reverend Mother would accept me at once.  I was then 14 years of age.

After several interviews with Reverend Mother Philomena, and consultation with Father McBriarty, a Redemptorist Father, it was decided that I should enter the convent on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1929.

In the meantime, Dad returned to England alone, to prepare for the members of the family who would follow later.  As things turned out, no one did go back to England the, as Dad realised that Canada was the country for youth, and that it would be a pity to bring the children back to England.  

Some years later, Dad married a very fine widow, and lived the remainder of his life in Brightlingsea.

Sacred Heart Convent

During my postulancy at the Sacred Heart Convent, I continued the study of music, attaining my Associate Diploma in Piano, Solo Performers’, with the Royal Conservatory of Music when I was 15.

Receiving the Holy Habit on January 3rd, 1930, I entered into the special Noviciate year, when secular studies were discontinued. After this year, I picked up the High School studies which had been interrupted by Mother’s death.

After completion of these studies, I began the formal study of Organ, under the tutelage of Cesar Borre, a very fine Belgian organist who had been a pupil of the famed Marcel Dupre in Paris.  In 1933 I attained the Associate Organ Diploma.

While continuing my own professional development, I joined the music teaching staff at the Sacred Heart Convent.  In the years that followed, I studied with several excellent artist-teachers, including Gertrude Huntley Greene and Dr. Harvey Robb, the first Principal of the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music.  With Dr. Robb, I achieved the Licentiate Diploma of Performance, giving three public recitals, in Chatham, Windsor, and London.

Shortly after receiving my Licentiate Diploma I was appointed the first Community Music Supervisor for the Sister of St. Joseph.  As the music schools conducted by the Sisters developed and expanded, my duties became more vital.  

1950’s

In September 1953, our new Mother house in London, the present Mount St. Joseph, opened.  This brought a new development of the London Music School, with enlarged facilities and new programmes.

In September 1955, I sailed from New York on the “Cristoforo Colombo” to Genoa, Italy, for a year of special professional study in music.  For one glorious year I lived in Florence, the centre of culture in Italy, where as a student of the famed Villa Schifanoia, I studied piano with Maestro Paulo Nardi, composition, musical analysis, philosophy of art and art history.  

During this year I made several trips to neighbouring countries - France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Switzerland, England, and Ireland.  

In England, where I stayed for two weeks, I was able to have many long visits with Dad in his little home in Brightlingsea.  These visits were a great source of happiness and consolation to both of us, and I shall be grateful for this privilege to the end of my life.  

I think Dad was very proud of me as he introduced me to his neighbours and friends.  He even arranged for me to give an informal piano recital at the home of a friend, so that he could hear me play.

I returned to Canada in July 1956 on the last voyage of the Andrea Doria, sister ship to the Cristofo Colombo, which sank during that trip.  The Doria collided in fog with the Swedish vessel, Stockholm, just 45 miles from New York harbour, on the night of July 25th.  I was taken aboard the “Ile de France” the largest of the rescue ships, and arrived in New York on July 27th.

1960’s

Now, for a little resume of my present life.  My time is completely taken up with music, and leaves little time for “hobbies”.  I still love to read, and find my relaxation in this when time allows.

I am a member of the Board of Studies and of the Board of Examiners of the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music, Council member of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association, and a member of the Diocesan Sacred Music Committee.  

As Supervisor of Music for my Community, I am doing extensive research and experimentation regarding the updating of the approach to music education and programme development.  I give lecture-recitals and workshops for teachers and students, and am at present inaugurating a new Teacher Training Course at Mount St. Joseph.

	Sister Callistus

	November 1968

Account written by request for my niece Louise Arnsby for use in a “History” of the family.

August 30, 1996

The conclusion of my personal story:

In 1990 I began to think seriously about my retirement.  For some years previously I had begun to reduce the number of my students, and was free to accept only those with more exceptional talent and serious goals.  I gradually stopped giving workshops to teachers, and in 1992 resigned from the Music Festival Adjudicators’ Assoc.  In June 1995 I officially retired from all professional activities.