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40-456: St. Marguerite Bourgeoys , the first teacher in the colony of Ville-Marie and the founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame , rallied the colonists to build a chapel in 1655. In 1673, returning from France , Bourgeoys brought a wooden image of Our Lady of Good Help ; the stone church was completed in 1678. It burned in 1754, the reliquary and statue being rescued and placed above the entrance of

80-509: A cloistered life by a merger with the Ursulines . On July 1, 1698, the congregation was "canonically constituted a community". During her last two years, Bourgeoys devoted her time primarily to prayer and writing her autobiography, of which some remnants have survived. She died in Montreal on 12 January 1700. The day following her death, a priest wrote, "If saints were canonized as in the past by

120-602: A new life whose passage to Nouvelle France was paid by the Crown in order to marry and create families in the colony. The young women had to be recommended by the Church as being of good character. Bourgeoys and her four companions also interviewed the male settlers who came to the settlement seeking a wife. The small group of women began to follow a religious way of life, establishing periods of common prayer and meals. The women also worked independently in various villages and towns throughout

160-661: A relic by the Congregation. Marguerite Bourgeoys was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1982, and is the first female saint of Canada. The process was begun nearly 100 years before in 1878, when Pope Leo XIII declared her "venerable". In November 1950, Pope Pius XII beatified her. The two miracles that led to her beatification both involved a miraculous cure from gangrene of the foot, gained by Joseph Descoteaux of St. Celestin, Quebec; and John Ludger Lacroix of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. On 2 April 1982, Pope John Paul II issued

200-597: A similar institution in Québec. Numerous sisters were brought to Île d'Orléans to help the growing community in that area. In 1692, the congregation opened a school in Québec that catered to girls from poor families. After announcing that she would step down in 1683, Bourgeoys stayed on as the figurehead of the Congregation until 1693. She gave up daily leadership, but worked to help her sisters retain their characteristic spirit. Bourgeoys and her colleagues kept their secular character despite efforts by Bishop Saint-Vallier to impose

240-570: A small school in Kahnawake , the mission village south of Montreal. Its population was primarily converted Mohawk and other Iroquois peoples. During the 1680s, the congregation of sisters grew significantly and finally gained a strong foothold in the city of Québec. The new bishop in the colony, Jean-Baptiste De La Croix de Saint-Vallier , was impressed with the vocational school that Bourgeoys had established in Ville-Marie and worked with her to found

280-673: A vacant stone stable by de Maisonneuve , founder of Ville Marie, to serve as a schoolhouse for her students. This was the beginning of public schooling in Montreal, which Bourgeoys established five years after arrival. Soon after receiving the stable, Bourgeoys departed for France to recruit more women to serve as teachers for the colony. She combined this goal with housing and caring for the King's Daughters or filles du roi , as they are known in Quebec, after they arrived from France. These were young women who were impoverished or orphaned or looking to start

320-499: A vision that inspired him to sponsor a mission on Montreal Island in New France . Maisonneuve was hired to lead the colonists and ensure their safety in the new land. In 1642, Ville-Marie was founded on the southern shore of the Island of Montreal , where a chapel and a small settlement were built. A hospital , under the leadership of Jeanne Mance , was also established. Maisonneuve

360-629: The Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal in 1653, an order of teaching nuns that educated French and Indigenous children. Maisonneuve died in Paris on 9 September 1676; at his bedside were his young friend, Philippe de Turmenys, and his devoted servant, Louis Fin. On September 10, his funeral and burial took place at the Church of the Fathers of the Christian Doctrine, near the abbey of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont . After his death, Rue Saint-Paul in Montreal

400-533: The Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal in the colony of New France , now part of Québec , Canada . Born in Troyes , she became part of a sodality, ministering to the poor from outside the convent. She was recruited by the governor of Montreal to set up a convent in New France, and she sailed to Fort Ville-Marie (now Montreal) by 1653. There she developed the convent. She and her congregation educated young girls,

440-516: The Kingdom of France . The daughter of Abraham Bourgeoys and Guillemette Garnier, she was the sixth of their twelve children. As a girl, Bourgeoys was never much interested in joining the confraternity of the Congregation Notre-Dame attached to the monastery in town. It had been founded in 1597 by Alix Le Clerc , dedicated to the education of the poor. The canonesses of the monastery helped

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480-491: The Saint-Nicholas from France, along with approximately 100 other colonists, mostly men. They had been recruited and signed to working contracts. Upon her arrival in the port of Quebec City on the following 22 September, Bourgeoys was offered hospitality with the Ursulines there while transportation to Ville-Marie was arranged. She declined the offer and spent her stay in Quebec living alongside poor settlers. The colony

520-601: The Congregation Notre-Dame to teach on the entire island of Montreal, as well as anywhere else in the colony that considered their services as necessary. In 1670 Bourgeoys returned to France again, seeking an audience with the King to protect her community from being cloistered. She left with no money or clothing, only with a letter of recommendation by Jean Talon , Royal Intendant of the colony; he praised her great contribution to its future. By May 1671, she had met with Louis XIV , and had obtained letters patent from him that secured

560-577: The Congregation. She established a boarding school at Ville-Marie, so that girls of more affluent area families would not have to travel to Quebec for their education. She also established a school devoted to needle-work and other practical, artisan occupations for women in Pointe-Saint-Charles . Other members of the Congregation founded smaller schools in places such as Lachine , Pointe-aux-Trembles , Batiscan , and Champlain . In 1678, Bourgeoys reached out to Catholic Native communities, setting up

600-543: The Decree of Miracle for a cure attributed to her intercession. On 31 October that year, she was canonized as Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys. On 30 May 1975 Canada Post issued the stamp, "Marguerite Bourgeoys, 1620–1700", designed by Jacques Roy and based on a painting by Elmina Lachance. The 8¢ stamps are perforated 12.5 x 12 and were printed by Ashton-Potter Limited. Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve (15 February 1612 – 9 September 1676)

640-583: The Governor of the French settlement at Montreal in New France, visited his sister, an Augustinian canoness in Troyes. She directed the sodality to which Bourgeoys belonged. The governor invited Marguerite Bourgeoys to come to Canada and start a school in Ville-Marie (eventually the city of Montreal). Before February 1653, Bourgeoys accepted the assignment to set up a congregation and a mission in New France. She set sail on

680-482: The Old Port and Saint Lawrence River . In 2005, Marguerite Bourgeoys's mortal remains were brought back to the church, where she now lies in the sanctuary. 45°30′36″N 73°33′04″W  /  45.51000°N 73.55111°W  / 45.51000; -73.55111 Marguerite Bourgeoys Marguerite Bourgeoys , CND (17 April 1620 – 12 January 1700), was a French religious sister and founder of

720-631: The Virgin in gratitude for her "good help" for safe sea voyages. In 1849, Mgr. Ignace Bourget , Bishop of Montreal , gave the chapel a statue of the Virgin as Star of the Sea, which was placed atop the church overlooking the harbour. Emphasizing the connection of the chapel and the port, the chapel is often called the Sailors' Church . The chapel now also houses the Marguerite Bourgeoys Museum , dedicated to

760-464: The colony, teaching the local children. During this three-year period, Bourgeoys and her small community sought official recognition and legitimacy from both the Crown and the religious establishment in New France. In 1669, Bourgeoys had an audience with François de Laval , the Apostolic Vicar of New France and its highest religious authority. He ultimately issued an ordinance that gave permission to

800-584: The current day. Of the local First Nations tribes with whom these French settlers had contact with, the Mohawk , who were already trading with the Dutch and in New Amsterdam (modern New York City ), resented French efforts to interrupt the trade. The Mohawk were based in present-day New York State , south of Montreal, and severely threatened the new colony. The Algonquin, in contrast, maintained peaceful relations with

840-477: The face of such uneven odds, Maisonneuve remained last so that the others could make it safely back to the fort, resulting in him being set upon by a Haudenosaunee chief. In this decisive moment, Maisonneuve fired twice on the chief, thus "killing him with his bare hands," as is sometimes quoted about the event, before returning to the safety of the fort amid much fanfare. In 1645, Maisonneuve received news that his father had died, and he returned to France. There, he

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880-414: The life of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys and to the early history of Montreal and the chapel site. Below the chapel, the crypt is being excavated as an archeological site, which visitors can see. First Nations and French colonial artifacts have been discovered, along with the foundations of the first chapel and the fortifications of the colony. The church's prominent spire can also be climbed, offering views of

920-598: The manor-house at Neuville-sur-Vanne, not far from the Maisonneuve seigneury which his father had acquired in 1614. He had two sisters and one brother. He began his military career at 13 in Holland, where he also learned to play the lute. Just before his 30th birthday, Maisonneuve was recruited by Jérome le Royer de la Dauversiere , who was head of the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal . The latter claimed to have experienced

960-724: The missionary society to the Sulpicians in March 1663. As New France had been proclaimed a royal province in 1663, governance of Montreal was assumed by the Governor General and the Sovereign Council . New France's governor general, Augustin de Saffray de Mésy, officially appointed Maisonneuve as governor of Montreal in October 1663. Maisonneuve objected, arguing that since the Sulpicians held

1000-471: The newly arrived Europeans. Nevertheless, they were often at war with the Haudenosaunee ( Iroquois ), who discovered the existence of the new French settlement of Montreal, whose defence Maisonneuve commanded using his military training, only in 1643. Already familiar with the terrain, the Haudenosaunee would often observe and engage the French settlers from the safety of the woods. That devastating strategy

1040-414: The poor, and children of First Nations until shortly before her death in early 1700. She is significant for developing one of the first uncloistered religious communities in the Catholic Church. Declared "venerable" by the pope in 1878, she was canonized in 1982 as the first female saint of Canada. Marguerite Bourgeoys was born on 17 April 1620 in Troyes , then in the ancient province of Champagne in

1080-412: The poor, but remained cloistered. They were not allowed to teach outside the cloister. To reach poor young girls who could not afford to board within the cloister as students, they relied upon a sodality, whose members they would educate in both religion and pedagogy. Marguerite decided at about age 15 to join the sodality affiliated with the congregation. in 1652 Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve ,

1120-528: The rebuilt church of 1771. After Montreal was conquered by British forces during the French and Indian War , the church was attended by Irish and Scottish troops and families, and saw fundraising to build Saint Patrick's Church , Montreal's first anglophone Catholic parish. In the 19th century, the chapel came to be a pilgrimage site for the sailors who arrived in the Old Port of Montreal ; they would make offerings to

1160-767: The seigneurial rights, only they could appoint a governor. For the same reason, Maisonneuve objected to the establishment of a royal court at Montreal. In September 1665, Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy , the Lieutenant Général of the Americas, ordered Maisonneuve to return to France on indefinite leave. After 24 years as head of the colony, he left Montreal for good. Settling in Paris Maisonneuve lived in relative obscurity. In 1671, he welcomed Marguerite Bourgeoys at his home in Paris . With his encouragement she had established

1200-415: The spring of 1651, the Haudenosaunee attacks became so frequent and so violent that Ville-Marie thought that its end had come. Maisonneuve made all the settlers take refuge in the fort. By 1652, the colony at Montreal had been so reduced that he was forced to return to France to raise 100 volunteers to go with him to the colony the following year. If the effort had failed, Montreal would have been abandoned and

1240-415: The survivors relocated downriver to Quebec City . When the 100 arrived in the fall of 1653, the population of Montreal was barely 50 people. They included Jacques Archambault , who dug the first well on the island in 1657, at the request of Maisonneuve. Over time, the colony grew in size and eventually was large enough to be secure from the Haudenosaunee threat. Ownership of the colony was transferred from

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1280-404: The viability of her community in New France as "secular Sisters". The French monarch wrote: "Not only has (Marguerite Bourgeoys) performed the office of schoolmistress by giving free instruction to the young girls in all occupations (...), far from being a liability to the country, she had built permanent buildings (...)." Helene Bernier refers to Bourgeoys's work after 1672 as the "Golden Age" of

1320-501: The voice of the people and of the clergy, tomorrow we would be saying the Mass of Saint Marguerite of Canada." Helene Bernier writes, "[P]opular admiration had already canonized her 250 years before her beatification." Numerous stories related to the time preceding her death. The elderly Sister Bourgeoys was said to have offered her life to God in order to save that of a younger member of the Congregation who had fallen ill. After intense prayer,

1360-416: The young sister was said to be cured, and Marguerite fell terribly ill, dying soon thereafter. After her death, she continued to be admired and highly regarded. The convent held an afternoon visitation open to the public; people treasured objects that they touched to her hands at this time, which became spiritual relics . Her body was kept by the parish of Ville-Marie, but her heart was removed and preserved as

1400-526: Was a French military officer and the founder of Ville-Marie , now the city of Montreal. Maisonneuve was baptised on 15 February 1612 at Neuville-sur-Vannes in Champagne , France . He was the son of Louis de Chomedey, seigneur of Chavane, Germenoy-en-Brie, and his second wife Marie de Thomelin, the daughter of Jean de Thomelin, a king's counsellor and a treasurer of France in the generality of Champagne, and of Ambroise d’Aulquoy. Paul de Chomedey grew up in

1440-514: Was named after Maisonneuve, who had built his home in 1650 on the early street. Nuns' Island was once called Île Saint-Paul in honour of the founder of Montreal. The current name of the island appears starting from the 19th century and was exclusively used from the 1950s on. The Maisonneuve Monument was erected in 1895 on Place d'Armes in Old Montreal , to his memory. It is the work of Louis-Philippe Hébert (1850–1917). An imaginary model

1480-596: Was offered the position of Governor of New France but turned it down, wanting to continue his leadership of Ville-Marie. Maisonneuve returned to Montreal in 1647, and the wars with the Iroquois continued. In 1649, Maisonneuve stood as godfather for the first white child baptized in the colony. She was Pauline Hébert, the daughter of the fur-trader Augustin Hébert and his wife Adrienne Du Vivier , who had come to Montreal in 1648 with Maisonneuve and their elder daughter Jeanne. In

1520-584: Was so small that Bourgeoys would have soon come to know practically everyone. During these early years, Bourgeoys initiated institution building. In 1657 she organized the formation of a work party to build Ville-Marie's first permanent church – the Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel ( French : Bonsecours ), known in English as the Chapel of Our Lady of Good Counsel. In April 1658 she was provided with

1560-416: Was the beginning of a long conflict between the groups as they were competing with each other for game and other resources. On 30 March 1644, the situation came to a head. Warned by their guard dogs as to the nearby presence of their enemies, a band of 30 settlers went into the forest to face their foes. Once in the woods, the French encountered 250 Haudenosaunee people in ambush, waiting for them. Retreating in

1600-511: Was the first governor of Montreal . The settlers maintained peaceful relations with the Algonquin people , one of the indigenous tribes of the area. The first year of the colony's existence was peaceful. In 1643 a flood threatened the city. Maisonneuve prayed to the Virgin Mary to stop the inundation and when it abated, he erected a cross atop Mount Royal . A cross has been maintained there to

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