Clara M. Sainsbury Shannon, C.S.D.

Portrait by Eileen Ayrton. Gift of Edward A. Long.

Biography

CLARA M. SAINSBURY SHANNON left England for Montreal, Canada, sometime after 1873. Her first contact with Christian Science came when she was healed through reading Science and Health as a young adult. She wrote to Mrs. Eddy asking how she could learn more, and Mrs. Eddy invited her to attend her 1888 Primary class. Following class instruction, Clara’s busy practice led her to give up a successful singing career, and she attended Mrs. Eddy’s last class in the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in 1889 and received the C.S.D. degree. Her first advertisement as a practitioner appeared in The Christian Science Journal of March 1889. In addition to teaching and practicing Christian Science, Miss Shannon organized and was principal for several years of the Montreal Institute of Christian Science. In September 1894, she joined Mrs. Eddy’s household at Pleasant View, where she served for about nine years. In March 1903, Clara Shannon returned to England where she continued to practice and later teach Christian Science.

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