St. Raphael Home for Aged Blind

From the Archives:

The Vision of Service: St. Raphael’s Hall

By Ava Doogue, CSJ Archivist

In the 1940s, Dr. Gabriel Farrell, Director of the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, requested that Archbishop O’Connell arrange formal religious education for his Catholic students. O’Connell entrusted this vital task to the Sisters of St. Joseph. The opportunity to serve at the Perkins Institute moved Mother Simplicia to tears; her devotion to the visually impaired began in her childhood in South Boston, where she had lived near the institution’s original home. As a young girl, she had found great joy in assisting the sisters at the Gate of Heaven convent as they served breakfast to the blind children (Sisters of St. Joseph, 1939, p. 2).
Eight Sisters were assigned to the Perkins Institute and divided the children into Upper and Lower schools, grouping them by ability. However, the sisters faced a daunting challenge: none of them knew how to read braille.

To bridge this gap, the sisters recruited Miss Duquette, an accomplished graduate of the Perkins Institute, to teach them Braille. When the sisters asked for advice on how to handle their new charges, Miss Duquette offered a powerful directive:
“Only this: please approach these children as if they were ‘normal’ children. They do not need, nor do they want, your sympathy” (Sisters of St. Joseph, 1939, p. 7).
The Sisters took this to heart. In their first year alone, they conducted 23 sessions for 125 pupils, culminating in five children receiving their First Holy Communion.
In 1942, the Archdiocese acquired the Cutter Estate in Newton, transforming it into St. Raphael’s Hall, a home for aged and visually impaired women. It was named for St. Raphael the Archangel, who famously restored sight to the biblical Tobias.

Though the sisters remembered her as a “dynamo—and sometimes dynamite,” her life was reclaimed…

The hall became a place of profound transformation. Archival records tell of one resident who, after losing her sight, had grown ‘bitter’ during her time in a state hospital. Under the care of Rev. Thomas J. Farrell and the sisters, her spirit softened. Though the sisters remembered her as a “dynamo—and sometimes dynamite,” her life was reclaimed by the peace and belonging she found within the community (Sullivan, p. 2)

While the sisters’ formal ministry to the blind transitioned to professional lay teachers in the 1960s, their legacy remains etched in the lives they touched. They provided more than just education; they provided a sanctuary of faith.
As we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, we honor the patron saint of workers and carpenters. St. Joseph understood that labor is a form of love. While these sisters did not build cupboards or tables with wood and nails, they were true “carpenters” of the spirit. Through tireless hard work and grit, they crafted a rigorous learning environment for their students and built a foundation of dignity for aging women. Like their patrons, they labored quietly and diligently, proving that the most enduring things ever “built” are the communities where every person is seen, valued, and loved.

Sources

Blaithin Sullivan, CSJ. That They May See. Archival research, Brighton, MA: Boston CSJ Archives

Sisters of St. Joseph, Boston. 1939. “Diary of the Appointment and experience of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Academy at the Perkins Institute for the Blind at Watertown, Mass.” Diary.