It’s old, majectic and produces sweet sounds. The 108-year-old Casavant organ at Providence Manor has been recognized as an historical instrument by the Royal Canadian College of Organists. A citation was presented during a ceremony in Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel following Mass on Sunday June 11th. Sister Gayle Desarmia, Archivist, received the citation from Carol Ramer, president of the Kingston centre of the RCCO. During her welcome, Sister Marian McCallum spoke briefly about the history of the organ.
 

On November 21, 1898, this Chapel of Our Mothers of Sorrows was blessed and dedicated. On that day, our Casavant organ, which had been installed earlier that month at a cost of just under $1,100, was played for the first time.

Co-ordinator of Pastoral Liturgy with the Sisters of Providence, Albert Dunn, was guest organist during the special Mass. He says playing the Casavant Pipe Organ is like traveling back in time.

The feeling of playing an instrument of 1898 puts one in touch not only with all those who have graced its bench before, but also with the technology of the time, says Albert.

The original citation will hang beside the organ; copies will be displayed at Providence Manor and at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul. Casavant is the oldest continuing name in North American organ building.